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PRINT FINISHING 


by 


William Mortensen 


CAMERA CRAFT PUBLISHING COMPANY 
425 Bush Street • San Francisco • California 


^ 2 —. 


Copyright 1938 

Camera Craft Publishing Company 
San Francisco 


1 " 1^337 


,Mc ; 


First Edition 
November , 1938 


Other Books by 

WILLIAM MORTENSEN 

Projection Control 
Pictorial Lighting 
Monsters and Madonnas 
The Model 

The Command to Look 



Printed in the United States of America 
by The Mercury Press, San Francisco 


©ClA 1 2451 7 


To George Allen Young 
. . . who ashed for it. 


TABLE OF CONTENTS 


Introduction 

This book deals with a critical but neglected stage in the making of a print. 
From wash water to salon wall. Why we discuss printing papers. All print 
finishing is postulated on original good material. The three stages of print 
finishing. (1) Preparation: the procedures for getting the print ready. (2) 
Clean-up and Control: A method both for correcting small flaws and for 
effecting extensive pictorial control. The basis of the Abrasion-Tone Process. 
(3) Presentation of the Print: Factors of showmanship in putting the print 
before the public. 

PART ONE: PREPARATION. 

Chapter One— Printing Papers. 

Why include printing papers. The function of printing paper: the passive 
support for the picture. Paper specifications. The use of glossy paper. 

Chapter Two— Drying. 

Drying procedure. A useful print dryer. Drying and ferrotyping glossy prints. 

Chapter Three —Flattening the Print. 

Two methods for straight-edging described. Pressing. Need of a good press. 
Pressing procedure: the “sandwich.” 

PART TWO: METHODS OF PRINT CONTROL. 

Chapter One— Preliminaries. 

The need for some sort of pictorial control. Disadvantages of negative re¬ 
touching as a control method. “Control processes” and their drawbacks. 
Advantages of direct control on the print itself. The Abrasion-T one Process. 
Purposes of Abrasion-Tone. Materials for Abrasion-Tone. Materials listed 
and described. Preparation of print for Abrasion-T one. 

Chapter Two —Use of the Powder Tone. 

Portrait project chosen for demonstration. Print qualifications summarized. 
Analysis of chosen print. Application of Powder-Tone. Blending tone. Use 
of eraser. Things accomplished by use of Powder-Tone. Precautions regarding 
its use. 

Chapter Three —Use of the Carbon Pencil. 

Reason for Carbon Pencil. Method of applying. Blending the carbon tone. 
Summary of uses of carbon tone. Guiding principle for use of pencil. 

Chapter Four —Use of the Blade. 

Why a razor blade. Purpose of blade. The correct cutting angle. How to 
“cover a passage.” Application of blade to problems of chosen print. Sum¬ 
mary of uses of blade. 

Chapter Five —Use of the Spotting Brush. 

Preparation of ink. General spotting procedure. Over-spotting and its correc¬ 
tion. Application of spotting brush to chosen print. Summary of uses of 
spotting. Comparison of functions of spotting brush and carbon pencil. The 
final clean-up. 


6 




Chapter Six— Limitations on Use of Abrasion-Tone. 

Must understand purposes and respect limitations of Abrasion-Tone. Limita¬ 
tions on process. Knowing when to stop. Illustrated instance of carrying the 
process too far. 

Chapter Seven— Other Applications of Abrasion-Tone 

Abrasion-Tone in Landscape. Application of process to a landscape subject. 
Improved photographic and pictorial qualities of completed print. A pic¬ 
torial set-up in an outdoor setting. Analysis of original print. Procedure 
described. The pictorial head with added background. The conventionalized 
landscape background is a favorite device of portrait painters. Advantage of 
such treatment. Use of Abrasion-Tone for this purpose. Original print 
analyzed. Construction of background with Abrasion-Tone. Clouds by Abra¬ 
sion-Tone. Composition and emotional values of clouds. Rules for added 
backgrounds. 

Chapter Eight— -Last Words. 

General admonitions regarding use of Abrasion*Tone Process. 

PART THREE: PRESENTATION. 

Chapter One— A Note on Showmanship. 

Preparing the print for public presentation. Showmanship. Showmanship as 
part of the artistic temperament. General suggestions for improving presenta¬ 
tion values. 

Chapter Two— Trimming and Cropping. 

Cropping is a phase of composition. Some suggestions on cropping. Proceed 
carefully. The rule for profiles. How deep to crop. The abuse of the “choke 
shot.” An analogy. 

Chapter Three— Mounting. 

The function of mounting. “ Isolation.” Dry mounting. The sunken mount. 
Surface mounting. Size of the mount. Relation of mount size to key of print. 
Color of mount. Spacing of print on mount. How best to secure “ isolation.” 
The general rule for spacing. The horizontal composition. Use of the extra- 
large mount , when justified. Use of the “step-off.” Choice of material for step- 
off. The deckle edge. The use of ruled lines. Mechanical details. 

Chapter Four— Signatures and Titles. 

The signature is an important detail. Two types of signature. The use of the 
written signature. The formal signature. Avoid monograms. Tone relation¬ 
ship of signature. Rules for placing of formalized signature. Position of 
signature and title. The formalized title. Combining the title with the 
composition. Mechanical procedure. 

Chapter Five— Framing. 

Reasons for use of frame and glass. Wooden frames, their disadvantages. 
Framing in passe-partout. Choice of color. Application of passe-partout. 

Chapter Six— Prints for Salons. 

The salon as the climax of the pictorialist’s hopes. Juries. A typical jury. 
A few suggestions for impressing the jury through good showmanship. Some 
amateur problems relating to salons. 

APPENDIXES. 

Appendix A.— Abrasion-Tone and the Texture Matrix. 
Appendix B.— Black Borders by Projection. 


7 



Introduction 


This book deals with a very important but much neglected phase 
in the making of a print. This phase begins with the time it emerges 
limp and dripping from the wash water (Figure 1), and ends with 
the time it is presented to public view in a portfolio, in a frame, or 
on salon walls (Figure 2). 

Only in one instance have I overstepped these bounds. This is in 
the case of the brief section on the choice of printing papers. It is 
obviously necessary to include this material, for finishing procedures 
are conditioned by the printing papers that are used. 

It is strange that this phase of print making should be so much 
neglected, for at the time the print comes out of the wash water it 
is rather less than half completed. Yet, at this point, otherwise care¬ 
ful and conscientious workers are apt to abandon the print to fend 
for itself and to give it only the most perfunctory sort of presentation. 
This is a very critical period in the photographic process, for pictures 
are made or spoiled in the finishing. Fine material will go for nothing 
unless it is properly presented, and clever presentation will often 
discover unrealized potentialities in what seemed at first glance to be 
second-rate material. 

Lest there he any misunderstanding, let it be clearly understood 
at the beginning that we are not going to talk about any procedures 
for salvaging bad pictures or recouping on technical blunders. All 


8 


finishing methods are postulated on good material, on good lighting, 
on good exposure, on a good negative, and on a print of good quality. 
Only when these things are present, should you proceed with the 
finishing of the print. 

Three Stages of Finishing 

The print finishing operation naturally divides itself into three 
stages: 

1. Preparation 

2. Control 

3. Presentation 

These three stages form the basis of the plan of this book and the 
three parts into which it is divided. 

The first stage—preparation—consists mostly of fairly simple 
mechanical procedures. These procedures, however, must be done 
cleanly and skillfully in order to secure the best results from the 
more difficult later stages of the finishing operation. 

Clean-Up and Control 

The second stage of the finishing procedure provides, in its sim¬ 
plest form, a method of getting rid of the small flaws that—even with 
the most careful workmanship—are apt to appear in the unfinished 
print. These flaws are such things as dust spots, scratches, pinholes, 
etc. With the increasing use of the miniature negative, these flaws 
become increasingly prevalent. 

The general method of dealing with such flaws is commonly 
known, though few amateurs understand how to make the best use 
of it. And very few realize that by extending and elaborating this 
method it offers amazing facilities for control. 

During the past eighteen years I have gradually evolved a method 
of print control which I have designated for convenience’ sake as the 
“Abrasion-Tone Process.” No new principles are involved in this 
process; it simply represents a refinement and extension of proced¬ 
ures long known to photographic professionals. In its simplest and 
most restricted use, Abrasion-Tone is merely a method of refining 
print quality. But, in skillful hands, extreme control and startling 
pictorial results are possible. 


9 



This process, both in its simple as well as its more extreme appli¬ 
cations, forms the basis of Part Two of this book. 

I have, up to now, declined to write about the Abrasion-Tone 
Process, owing to the delicacy of its operations and the difficulty of 
properly describing them without actual demonstration. And I have 
felt a genuine reluctance at putting into the hands of the inexperi¬ 
enced amateur a process which is so rich in opportunities for misuse 
and abuse. 

However, due to increasing demand, the process is here made 
public, but with the reiterated warning that these methods are not 
for the callow and careless amateur: they require a worker of skill, 
taste and discrimination. 

Presentation of the Print 

In the third part of the book we come to a very important phase 


10 



Figure 2 



11 






of print finishing that—so far as I know—has never received ade¬ 
quate treatment or exposition. This is the matter of Presentation. 

Here is a thing about which many photographers, otherwise 
competent and conscientious, are strangely careless and insensitive. 
And many pictures never get the “breaks” that they deserve in salons 
and exhibitions because they are wrongly or ineffectively presented. 

There is much, much more to displaying a picture than merely 
tacking it up on the wall for people to look at. A picture is not 
complete until it is given adequate presentation by proper framing, 
mounting, etc. Showmanship and (in the broad sense of the word) 
salesmanship are needed here. 

A certain amount of manual skill is required for this phase of 
print finishing. Much more important are good taste and a sense of 
the fitness of things. These latter requisites are, of course, vastly 
harder to acquire than simple manual skill and neatness, but, in¬ 
herent or acquired, they are a primary part of the equipment of any 
photographer who aspires to do anything that transcends the snapshot 
class. 


12 


Part One 


Preparation 


Chapter One 

Printing Papers 


Ill beginning with a chapter on papers, I am somewhat trans¬ 
gressing the arbitrary limit I set on myself—that of commencing our 
consideration of finishing operations with the moment that the print 
comes out of the wash water. This single violation of the plan is 
necessitated by the fact that the whole finishing operation is deter¬ 
mined all along the line by the qualities of the printing paper in¬ 
volved. Incidentally, we may note that the printing paper is also one 
of the factors of presentation , of which we will speak in Part Three. 

In this chapter I shall describe those qualities of printing paper 
that best adapt it to pictorial purposes and to the methods of print 
finishing outlined in this book. 

The Function of Printing Paper 

In order to establish some sort of basis for our criticism of print¬ 
ing papers, let us first give a little thought to the basic function of the 
paper in the business of making and finishing a print. Just what part 
does the printing paper play in the completed picture? 

Basically, the paper is nothing but the passive support upon 


13 


which the picture is imprinted. By itself the paper means nothing: 
it is significant only because it serves to display the print. 

This may seem too obvious a point to emphasize so heavily. But 
it is, unhappily, a point which is too often forgotten—to the great 
detriment of the picture. 

Since the business of the printing paper is to serve merely as the 
passive support for the picture, it follows that any certain quality or 
peculiarity that draws attention to the paper itself—is bad. So any 
details of color, texture or surface that serve to make the paper 
conspicuous—no matter how admirable they may be in themselves— 
should be avoided. Children (we are informed on good authority) 
should be seen but not heard. A good printing paper should not even 
be seen. The picture should be seen—and the paper taken for 
granted. 

Futile Complication 

Application of this principle will do much to simplify the prob¬ 
lems of the amateur who must make a choice of printing material 
from the staggering complexity of material that confronts him. 
There are perhaps a dozen leading manufacturers each of whom is 
making several different brands of bromide paper. All these brands 
are made in all conceivable variations of contrast, color, texture, 
surface and weight. The makers ring all the possible changes and 
permutations of these items. The result is an exuberant multiplica¬ 
tion of varieties, sub-varieties, and sub-sub-varieties of printing paper 
that makes the vital statistics of guinea pigs look very restrained 
indeed. 

This complication is really of no significance to the pictorialist. 
Most of the papers on the manufacturers’ lists are for specialized 
technical or commercial use and have no bearing at all on pictorial 
problems. When these are eliminated from consideration, the prob¬ 
lem becomes appreciably simpler. And now a little intelligent appli¬ 
cation of the principle mentioned in the foregoing section (that paper 
is merely the passive support for the picture) will serve to cut the 
once colossal lists to very modest dimensions. 


14 


Paper Specifications 

Bromide paper is usually listed according to five different bases 
of classification—contrast, weight, color, surface and texture. I will 
observe this same classification in making my recommendations. 

1. Contrast. A paper of normal or medium contrast 
should be used. This of course assumes that your nega¬ 
tive is correct in quality.* No one should attempt to 
make a picture from a faulty negative. 

2. Weight. A paper of medium or double weight is recom¬ 
mended. 

3. Color. Ninety per cent of all pictorial subjects demand 
nothing but white paper. With a few genre subjects an 
ivory stock may be used. Any more conspicuous color 
should be avoided. 

4. Texture. A somewhat rough surface is often pleasing 
with pictorial subjects. But any sort of obvious pattern 
or texture in the paper is bad. Therefore, discard (as 
far as pictorial use is concerned) all linens, canvases 
and other fancy textures. These fancy textures directly 
violate the first principle that we laid down above—that 
a good printing paper should not be conspicuously seen, 
but simply taken for granted. 

5. Surface. For most pictorial subjects a matt surface is 
preferable. There is a certain restricted field of subject 
matter, however, that is best represented on a glossy 
surface. For the control methods described in Part Two 
a matt surface is essential. 

Use of Glossy Paper 

Glossy stock is apt to be associated in the mind with very crass 
and crude commercial work. But it has definite pictorial uses. Glossy 
paper is demanded, for example, by certain sorts of crisp and brilliant 

*For exposition of negative quality see Projection Control (Chapter Three) and Pictorial Lighting 
(Chapter Four). 


15 



material—such material as that exploited by the “F :64” group and 
other so-called photographic “purists.” 

Glossy paper is suggested if the effect of the subject material de¬ 
pends on the quality of the texture and detail rendering—and not on 
mass, line or atmosphere. An Ansel Adams snow scene, for instance, 
would be absurd on matt paper. Just as absurd would be a Misonne 
subject on glossy paper. 

Detail rendering, such as that exploited by glossy paper, is only 
to be secured from a fairly large negative. Therefore, a miniature 
camera owner will have little occasion to make “glossies.” 


16 


Chapter Two 


Drying 


The first preparatory step in the finishing of a print is the drying 
process. While the wet print is no such tender customer as the 
negative in the same stage, it requires reasonably careful handling. 

In a word—the best way to dry a print is—to dry it. There is no 
need for any ceremony, complication or expensive apparatus. The 
average amateur has no more need for electrical or mechanical drying 
gadgets than he has for a hundred-gallon tank to wash his prints in. 
Leave commercial devices to the commercial men. 

Procedure 

Before putting the prints to dry, they should each he swabbed 
gently on both sides to remove any surface water. Use for this pur¬ 
pose a viscose sponge or a soft, lintless cloth. Unless this surface 
water is swabbed off, it will collect to form little puddles on the dry¬ 
ing print. These puddles leave their mark on the print in the form 
of unsightly bulges which are almost impossible to eliminate. This 
swabbing also materially reduces the drying time. 

As to the manner of drying, this may be largely determined by the 
needs and facilities of the individual. If you make only a few prints 
at a time, you may dry them, as many amateurs do, face down on 
clean, white blotting paper. 


17 


At one time, for a period of nearly a year, owing to lack of 
laboratory facilities, I laid my prints out to dry on the rug of the front 
room. During this period, I carried on quite a large and profitable 
portrait business. 

However, if you are apt to be turning out a good many prints at a 
time, such a print dryer as that illustrated in Figure 3 will prove the 
most satisfactory. At the same time, it is very cheap and simple to 
construct. It consists of a rack of square wooden frames, three feet 
by three feet, covered with fine mesh galvanized chicken wire. The 
wire is painted so as to protect the prints from any metallic stains. 
The frames are about nine inches apart in the rack, and rest loosely 
on cleats so that they may be removed if desired. 

Some prefer to cover the frames with cheesecloth or muslin, but 
I have found that the chicken wire is much more durable and dries 
the prints more quickly. 

Drying Glossy Prints 

The drying rack described above serves for proofs and matt 
prints. Glossy prints are more difficult to handle and require more 
particular treatment. 

To secure the utmost brilliance from glossy prints, they should be 
“ferrotyped.” This is done by drying them face downward on enam¬ 
eled or Japanned tins. The ferrotype tins, if neglected, are rather 
subject to rust or corrosion, so they should be rubbed up once in 
a while with a slightly oily cloth. 

The general procedure of ferrotyping is as follows: 

1. Clean the ferrotype tin carefully. 

2. After washing the print, put it through a bath consisting 
of 32 oz. of water, 1 teaspoon (% oz.) of “Feroline,” 
and 1 oz. of glycerin. 

3. Lay the wet print face downward on the tin and press 
it gently into contact with a soft rubber roller. Roll 
from the center toward the corners, so as to eliminate 
all bubbles or bulges. It is best to use a roller for this 
purpose, not a flat squeegee. (Those who do a large 


18 


Figure 3 

The drying rack consists of 
wooden frames covered with 
chicken wire. 



amount of ferrotyping may prefer to use a wringer. 
In this case the print and tin are run through the 
wringer together.) 

4. Swab all excess water from the back. 

5. When the print has dried, it will loosen sufficiently at 
the corners so that you may readily strip it from the tin. 

Failure of ferrotyping, which causes the print to stick so tightly 
to the tin that it cannot be detached without damage, is probably due 
to one of three causes: 

1. Dirty or corroded tins. 

2. Failure to use a bath such as that described in section 2 
above. 

3. Too heavy a hand with the roller. (The print should be 
merely smoothed into place.) 


19 










Chapter Three 


Flattening the Print 


The unequal drying of the gelatin emulsion and the paper back¬ 
ing always causes the print to curl somewhat while it dries. It is 
necessary to straighten and flatten the print before it can be worked 
on and properly mounted. There are two stages in the straightening 
process—straight-edging and pressing. 

Straight-Edging 

A print should not be absolutely bone dry at the time it is straight¬ 
ened. While it appears dry, it should contain a small residue of 
moisture. A print that is too dry is harder to straighten and is more 
liable to damage. Rather than try to work with a print that has gone 
too dry, dip it in the wash water and dry it over again. 

The object of straight-edging is to take the curl out of prints so 
that they may be completely flattened in the press. There are two 
methods of straight-edging in common use. One consists of pulling 
the print, held face down, under the sharp edge of a ruler. The other 
method consists of pulling the print over the edge of a table or work¬ 
bench. The latter method, which I shall describe, is the one that I 
prefer, since it does not require the use of any auxiliary gadget. 

The table to be used should have a straight, square edge. Lay the 


20 



Figure 4 

Beginning operations of 
straight edging. Left hand 
is pressed down firmly. 



Figure 5 

Midway in straight edging. 
Note how left hand fol- 
loivs print over edge. 



Figure 6 

Completion of straight 
edging operation. Move¬ 
ment should be steady and 
uninterrupted to avoid 
creasing. 


print on the table, face upward. Grasp one corner of the print with 
the right hand and lay the flat of the left hand firmly on the face of 
the print. Now, with the right hand, pull the print downward across 
the edge of the table. At the same time, let the left hand follow and 
guide the print. Figures 4, 5 and 6 show three successive stages of 
the operation—at the beginning, the middle and the end. Note care¬ 
fully the way in which the firmly pressed left hand follows the print 
around the edge. Failure to do this may result in tearing the print. 
The movement should be steady and continuous: hesitating or stop¬ 
ping part way through will produce creases which cannot be removed. 

This operation is repeated four times with each print, working 
from all four corners. 

Pressing 

When straight-edged, the print goes into the press for final 
flattening. 


21 



Although there are numerous cheaper contraptions, a press of 
the type illustrated in Figure 7 is the only satisfactory sort. Eastman 
manufactures such a press for about twenty dollars; but if you are 
fortunate enough to find an old letter copying press in a second-hand 
shop, you may manage to equip yourself much more cheaply. The 
bed-plate of the press should not be smaller than eleven by fourteen 
inches. 

Before being placed in the press the prints should be made into a 
“sandwich” between two pieces of heavy chip-board. Use plenty of 
pressure. Cinch down the press as tight as conveniently possible. 
Operation of the press is much facilitated if it is screwed to the table. 

Prints should be left in the press for at least three hours. 

This completes the preparatory stage of print finishing. When the 
print comes out of the press it is ready to undergo the Clean-Up and 
Control procedures. 


22 



Part Two 


Methods of Print Control 


Chapter One 

Preliminaries 


At this stage of things, you now have a print that is properly dried, 
flattened and pressed. 

Since you have troubled to put it through all these processes, we 
will assume that it is of reasonably good technical quality. It is cor¬ 
rectly printed and developed, and is free from all gross blunders such 
as stains and severe scratches. Yet, if you are human, there will prob¬ 
ably be many things about this technically good print that you would 
like to see altered. There may be distracting or irrelevant elements 
in the background. There may be unfortunate imperfections of the 
skin, misplaced wisps of hair, or wrongly turned garment folds, things 
which in the subject itself are unimportant and scarcely noticeable, 
which are nevertheless destructive of picture values. 

In the next eight chapters I will discuss a control method for 
dealing with these things. 

Almost as old as photography itself is the desire for some sort of 
control. Scarcely a picture has ever been taken that did not show, in 
its rough proof form, the need of some simple adjustment that would 
immediately make it a better picture. Accidental circumstances of 


23 


time and place have a way, in photographs, of usurping an altogether 
disproportionate amount of attention. Little things, quite unnoticed 
when the picture was taken, assume, in the finished print, a ridiculous 
importance. That bit of landscape, for example, was so lovely that 
you really didn’t notice the telephone pole; but there it is, in your 
proof, ugly and assertive. And, for another instance, when you took 
that picture of Mary Jane, she seemed to you much the loveliest of 
God’s creatures; but the camera cynically points out that she is 
extremely freckled and has a pimple on her cheek. 

Now, accidental circumstances like freckles or telephone poles 
are really a libel on the subject matter, for they vitiate your original 
pictorial intent. You really saw pictorial possibilities in the land¬ 
scape or in Mary Jane; but these disagreeable details prevented you 
from realizing them. Try as we may, we can’t get the camera to see 
things as we see them. 

For many years, the standard way of making such changes and 
alterations has been by means of retouching on the negative. For the 
amateur, however, retouching on the negative is both difficult and 
tedious, and involves a very specialized sort of skill that he is not 
likely to care to acquire. Even in skillful hands, such retouching of 
the negative is subject to severe limitations. Little can be done by this 
means toward improving gradation or widening the half-tone range. 
And on the miniature negative, of course, any sort of extensive re¬ 
touching is quite out of the question. Since most pictorial work now¬ 
adays is being done with the miniature camera, this limitation puts 
negative retouching out of the running as far as any sort of use in 
amateur or pictorial work is concerned. 

Another way of achieving such changes and elimination involves 
the use of some one of the “control processes”—such as Paper Nega¬ 
tive or Bromoil Transfer. These processes are, however, rather 
round-about means of attaining the desired control, and, in the case 
of Bromoil Transfer, much too expensive for the average amateur to 
indulge in. 

By far the most reasonable and readily comprehended means of 
control is direct control by work on the print itself. The advantages 


24 


of being able to work in terms of the positive are obvious. Only the 
most experienced retoucher is able to work with sureness in terms of 
negative values. It has the further advantage that, when well done, 
it is absolutely photographic in effect. Even with good retouching of 
the negative, it is obvious, upon inspection of the print, that there is 
a departure from good photographic quality.* 

The Abrasion-Tone Process 

In the following chapters I shall describe the method of print 
control which I have called the Abrasion-Tone Process. It is a 
process which I have evolved and perfected over a period of a good 
many years and which I have used in many of my own pictures. The 
process involves no new principles; it merely extends, improves and 
combines familiar professional procedures. In its most restricted use, 
Abrasion-Tone is simply a method for refining print quality. How¬ 
ever, when desired, extreme control and startling pictorial results are 
possible. 

Abrasion-Tone is postulated on the best of negative and print 
quality. It must not be thought of as a means for correcting or cover¬ 
ing up technical shortcomings. When negative and print quality are 
good, one may accomplish results with this process beyond the 
attainment of any lens or equipment. 

Uses of Abrasion-Tone 

The various uses of the Abrasion-Tone procedure may be briefly 
summarized as follows: 

1. Elimination of flaws and unwanted detail. 

2. Alteration of detail. 

3. Improvement of gradation. 

4. Improvement of definition. 

5. Dramatic emphasis for pictorial effect. 

Careful comparison of Figure 8 and Figure 9 will show the type 
of control and extent of improvement that may be effected on a print 
by a skilled worker. 

^Photographers of the old school are apt to raise the issue of legitimacy at this point. This of 
course is ridiculous. There is no greater departure from strict photographic procedure involved in 
applying control to a print than there is in retouching a negative. If you are going to raise the 
issue of purity in photography, be pure throughout your procedure, and eschew negative retouching 
equally with other control methods. 


25 




Figure 8. Original condition of print. 


26 




Figure 9. 


Print after application of Abrasion-Tone Process. 


27 




All the above-listed uses of Abrasion-Tone will be demonstrated 
in the course of the chapters to follow. In the first chapters I will 
limit myself to the use of the process in connection with portrait 
material. A later chapter will deal with its application to landscape 
and complicated pictorial set-ups. 

Materials for Abrasion-Tone 

The materials for Abrasion-Tone are quite inexpensive. The full 
set hereafter listed should not cost you more than three dollars. Do 
not attempt to use any substitutes or makeshifts. The fitness of these 
materials for the process has been established by many years of 
experimentation and elimination. Please try to follow all directions 
in these articles explicitly and exactly. Until you have the process 
well under control, do not try to introduce any experimental varia¬ 
tions of your own. All methods herein described are practicable and 
workable, for I have been working them myself for many years. 

Here are the materials (Figure 10) for the Abrasion-Tone 
Process: 

1. Toning Powder. This is made from A. W. Faber’s 
“Castell” Polychromos Chalks. These come in a small 
box of thirteen chalks for ninety cents. Use only the 
ivory black (#45) and burnt sienna (#60) crayons. 
Powder these by rubbing them over a piece of fine sand¬ 
paper. Mix them in the proportion of two parts of black 
to one of burnt sienna. Keep the powder in a small flat 
box. 

2. One stick of Chinese ink. 

3. One Wolff’s B.B. Carbon Drawing Pencil. Don’t try to 
use any other sort of pencil for this process. 

4. Valet safety razor blades. These must be new and 
unused. 

5. Powdered pumice. A one- or two-ounce carton is a con¬ 
venient size. Punch a number of small holes in the top 
of the carton, so that the powder may be shaken out. 

6. Absorbent cotton. 


28 



Figure 10. The materials for Abrasion-Tone are small in number and 
relatively inexpensive. 


7. One two-and-a-half inch paint brush. 

8. One #4 round sable brush. The Devoe & Reynolds 
Albata 822 is recommended. A sable brush is necessary; 
camel’s hair will not serve. 

9. A kneaded eraser. Get the ten-cent size. 

10. A pencil eraser. Any good pencil eraser will serve, but, 
if much work is being done, it will be more convenient 
to have the Blaisdell Eraser No. 535-T. 

Preparation of Print for Abrasion-T one 

The print to which Abrasion-Tone is applied should be derived 
from a negative of good technical quality, correctly exposed and 
well lighted. The picture used for purposes of demonstration in the 
following four chapters exemplifies the Basic Light. But, as we shall 
see in Chapter Seven, the process may also be applied, with certain 


29 




variations, to pictures using the Plastic or Dynamic types of lighting.* 

The print should be an enlargement, of course. To obtain full 
advantage of the process, the enlargement should be of fair size, 
preferably not smaller than eight-hy-ten. ^ 

The enlargement should be made on a smooth , matt paper , white 
or ivory. The three manufacturers,—Eastman, Defender and Agfa- 
Ansco—each make one grade of paper which is particularly adapted 
to this process. These are, respectively: 

Eastman Portrait Proofing Paper, matt. 

Defender Velour Black I. 

Agfa Brovira 7051 (soft) or 7052 (normal). 

Gloss, semi-gloss or luster papers should not be used.** 

It is essential that the emulsion of the paper he well hardened 
during or after fixing. The following Hypo formula contains sufficient 
hardener for the purpose: 

HYPO 


Powdered Hypo .2 lbs. 

Water .1 gal. 

In separate container, mix in given order: 

Sodium Sulphite .1 oz. 

99 p.c. Acetic Acid.1% ozs. 

White Alum.2 ozs. 

Water .4 ozs. 


Add slowly to Hypo solution. 

Unless the emulsion is thoroughly toughened, it will not stand up 
under the Abrasion process. 

After hardening, the print must be well washed, thoroughly dried 
and straightened before it is ready for working on. 

*For explanation of these terms, see Pictorial Lighting, Chapters Three and Six. 

**These three papers are carefully chosen for their adaptability to Abrasion-Tone. One of these 
papers should be used while you are learning the process. With increasing skill, you will find that 
there are a few other surfaces that you can make use of. Among these is the recent Eastman 
Kodalure R, a beautiful paper with a hint of luster. It may be successfully adapted to Abrasion—but 
not until you have thoroughly mastered the process. 


30 









Chapter Two 


Use of the Powder Tone 


For the purpose of demonstrating the Abrasion-Tone Process, I 
will assume that you have a print conforming to the following con¬ 
ditions, and of subject material somewhat similar to Figure 8. 

1. The print must be from a negative of good technical 
quality. 

2. Basic Lighting is preferable.* 

3. The print must he an enlargement, not smaller than 
eightdoy-ten. 

4. The enlargement must be made on white matt paper. 

5. The emulsion of the paper must be well hardened 
during or after fixing. 

Place the print before you on a well-lighted, uncluttered table, 
with ample elbow room, and with your materials for Abrasion-Tone 
arranged within convenient reach. A table or desk with a slight 
slant is much easier to work on, since you are not obliged to hang over 
it to reach the upper edge of the print. 

*Pictorial Lighting, Chapter Three. 


31 



Figure 11. Spread toning powder in circu- Figure 12. Wipe off excess powder with 
lar strokes over entire surface of print. fresh wad of cotton. 

Use powder sparingly. 


In examining Figure 8 you will notice various faults. Although 
there is good gradation here in the middle tones, the print as a whole 
lacks brilliance and punch. There are numerous untidy wisps of 
hair. Unfortunate shadows give a sulky expression to the lips. The 
ear is too white, where the sun-tan failed to cover. The eyes lack 
brilliance and show multiple highlights. There are numerous small 
skin abrasions. There are several dust spots and a pinhole in evi¬ 
dence. And there is a large white spot caused by a hit of gelatin 
sticking to the negative. All these and other faults must be corrected 
before the print can pass muster as a picture. 

The first step is the application of the Powder Tone. Take a 
medium-sized wad of cotton and dip it lightly into the box of powder. 
Dust off any excess powder and rub the cotton with circular strokes 


32 




Figure 13. With kneaded eraser broadly Figure 14. Also clear out tone in back - 

clear out tone from light areas of print. ground near head. 


over the entire area of the print, beginning with the face and spread¬ 
ing clear to the corners (Figure 11). The powder must be very 
sparingly used. The print at this stage should have acquired an even 
and slight warmish tone all over it, but should not be noticeably 
darker. 

With a fresh wad of cotton wipe the surface of the print, removing 
as much of the tone as possible without scrubbing (Figure 12). 

Now, with the kneaded eraser, remove the tone from the light 
areas of the print—the forehead, the bridge of the nose, the bulge of 
the cheeks, the tip of the chin, the front of the dress, etc. Don’t he 
niggling or precise at this stage. Work with broad sweeps of the 
eraser, merely cleaning up the general areas. This will leave a sharp 
line of demarcation between the tone and the cleaned areas (Figure 


33 





Figure 15. Sprinkle pumice lightly over 
cleaned areas. 


Figure 16. With a small wad of cotton, use 
pumice to blend edges of cleaned areas. 


13). Also clean out a small area of the background near the head 
(Figure 14). 

Now, sprinkle a small amount of pumice over these cleaned areas 
(Figure 15). With a small wad of cotton, and using the pumice as 
a blending agent, rub along the edges of the cleaned areas until a 
smooth blend and even gradation is produced (Figure 16). 

You will, by this blending process, have once more veiled over 
the light areas with tone. So we go to work again with the kneaded 
eraser. But this time clean up only the very lightest half-tones within 
the light-areas (Figure 17). Blend again, very delicately, with 
pumice, if necessary. 

You will at this stage have added several half-tones to the range 


34 




Figure 17. With kneaded eraser, clean up Figure 18. Use pencil eraser to emphasize 
lightest half-tones within light-area. the small crisp highlight accents. 


of the picture. Now, with the pencil eraser, add the final crisp 
accents in the very brightest areas (Figure 18). By this means you 
add one more half-tone. 

Now, with the large paint brush, sweep off all the debris, consist¬ 
ing chiefly of eraser crumbs and grains of pumice (Figure 19). 

The Powder-Tone: Summary 

This completes the application of the Powder-Tone, the first 
stage of the process. Let me now summarize the uses of the Tone, 
and mention certain precautions regarding its use. 

Two things are accomplished by the use of the Tone: 

1. It imparts a slight walnut-brown warmth to the print. 

2. By removing the Tone from the light-area and leaving 
it in the lower half-tones, the half-tone range of the 


35 





Figure 19 

Brush off eraser crumbs and grains of 
pumice. 



print is widened—thus increasing the impression of 
plasticity. 

The following precautions should he observed in employing the 
Powder-Tone: 

1. Always use the Tone sparingly. An excess of the Tone 
will make a smudgy irreparable mess of your print. 

2. Never use the Tone as a local coloring agent; e.g., by 
putting it on the face and leaving the background un- 
toned. Use it only as a general tone. It must be allowed 
to remain only where there is already silver deposit on 
the print. 

3. Avoid touching the surface of a toned print with your 
fingers, particularly if your hands are inclined to 
perspire. 


36 



Chapter Three 


Use of the Carbon Pencil 


The next stage of the Abrasion-Tone Process involves principally 
the use of the Wolff BB Carbon Pencil. Let me reiterate that no other 
type of pencil will serve for this purpose—particularly not a lead 
pencil, which is gray instead of black in tone and leaves a shine 
on the paper. 

The carbon pencil is, in general, employed for darkening larger 
areas and for securing more tone in the deeper half-tones. In Figure 
8, for example, work with the pencil is called for in the orbits of the 
eyes, along the hairline, and to supply more tone on the curve of 
the cheek. 

The pencil is used in broad sweeping strokes. Notice, in Figure 
20, the method of applying it over the orbits of the eyes. No attempt 
is made here to blend or work smoothly. 

For blending we once more use a little pumice on a small wad of 
cotton (Figure 21). Rub this gently over the penciled area until an 
even gradation of tone is secured. If you find that the highlight 
within the penciled area has been too much subdued, give it added 
pungency with the pencil eraser (Figure 22), blending in again with 
pumice. 

The Carbon Pencil: Summary 

This completes the use of the Carbon Pencil, which is the second 
stage of the Abrasion-Tone Process. Let me now summarize the usual 
applications of the pencil to an ordinary portrait problem. 


37 



Figure 20. Apply carbon pencil in broad Figure 21. Blend carbon tone with a little 
sweeping strokes. pumice on a wad of cotton. 


1. Darkening orbits of eyes. This use we have already 
noted above. 

2. Filling in larger “traps” in hair and drapery. Unless 
the hair is very carefully arranged close to the head, 
the camera is apt to reveal loops of hair, dark against 
the white background. These enclosed white patches 
are very unpleasant and distracting elements and 
require to be darkened. 

3. Restoring lost contours. Certain types of lighting fail 
to make sufficient separation between the line of the 
cheek and the white of the background. By the pencil 
this faint or absent contour may be strengthened or 
restored. 

4. Adding “bloom” to cheek. A little additional tone on 
the curve of the cheek gives the impression of warm 
blood beneath the skin, and creates an illusion of skin 


38 














Figure 22 

Restore highlights tvith pencil eraser. 



texture without unpleasant literal detail. 

5. Balancing the tone of the background. It is a not infre¬ 
quent fault of pictures that one side of the background 
is more brightly lighted than the other. This inequality 
may be corrected by careful use of the pencil tone. 

6. White ears. The prevalence of sun-tan and bathing caps 
frequently brings you sitters whose ears are much 
whiter than their faces. A freak of lighting will occa¬ 
sionally create the same effect. White ears may be 
readily corrected by a little additional tone from the 
pencil. 

7. White hair-line. The same causes contribute to produce 
a pale strip of skin along the juncture of the hair with 
the forehead. A little pencil tone, carefully blended, 
will fill in this strip. 

One general principle should guide you in your use of the Carbon 
Pencil: Bear in mind always that, in the Abrasion-Tone Process, the 
pencil is not a means for drawing or working in line, hut simply a 
means for adding more tone where desired. 


39 


Chapter Four 


Use of the Blade 


The next stage of the process is concerned with abiasion a fid 
involves the use of the razor blade. You will notice that I specify 
the Valet safety razor blade. In the course of my experiments I have 
tried dozens of other tools for this purpose, from etching knives to 
dentist’s drills; but I have found nothing that served my purpose so 
well as this humble and easily secured article. 

Aside from its cheapness and convenience, two practical reasons 
cause me to prefer the razor blade to any other device. 

1. The resiliency of the blade adds greatly to the ease of 
handling it. 

2. The fact that the blade is held and directly operated by 
the fingers makes it much more responsive and flexible 
in operation. 

More than any other part of the process, the use of the blade calls 
for the acquirement of a specialized manual skill. Unless you are 
willing to take the time and exercise the patience necessary to acquire 
this skill, you can never accomplish anything with the Abrasion-Tone 
Process. 

The general use of the blade is to remove, by means of a delicate 
scraping operation, chosen portions of the silver deposit in the print. 
By this means you are enabled to locally lighten the tone, to smooth 


40 



Figure 23. Hold blade between thumb and Figure 24. The weight of the hand rests on 

forefinger, bracing it against the third the ball of the wrist. 

finger. 


out imperfections, and to eliminate objectionable detail. But unless 
you know exactly bow to handle the blade, you will speedily make 
bash out of your print. 

Handling the Blade 

Owing to the delicacy of the procedure and the special skill re¬ 
quired, I am obliged to go into rather precise and specific detail about 
the mechanics of holding the blade and the method of operating it. 
Please try to follow the instructions explicitly, without any experi¬ 
mental deviations of your own. 

The blade is held between the thumb and first finger and is braced 
against the third or ring finger. The first, second and third fingers 
are kept in close contact (see Figure 23). The blade is grasped at a 
point about one-third of its length from the end, so that one-third of 
the blade projects beyond the thumb and first finger. Hold the blade 
firmly, but dont clutch it. To get good action with the blade there 
must be relaxation rather than tenseness. 

Now, with the blade so held, lay the entire forearm relaxed on the 
table and print. The principal weight of the arm should rest on the 
ball of the wrist—the bony protuberance on the little finger side of 
the hand (Figure 24). Be sure you feel the weight resting on this 
point. Then turn the hand over until the blade rests against the print 


41 




Figure 25. Keep plane of blade perpendi- Figure 26. The edge of the blade is in - 
cular to surface of print. clined at an angle of about 15 degrees. 


in such a way that the plane of the blade is perpendicular with the 
print (Figure 25). At the same time, the edge of the blade should be 
inclined at an angle of about 15 degrees (Figure 26). 

Now, without moving the forearm, and with the corner of the 
blade resting delicately on the print, cause your hand to oscillate, 
rotating it on the fulcrum of the ball of the wrist—where, you will 
remember, the principal weight of the arm should rest. Until you 
get the hang of the procedure, let the blade cut only in one direction 
—preferably away from you. The cutting stroke should not he more 
than one-eighth of an inch in length. 

If you succeed in getting tiny crumbs of emulsion from the surface 
of the print without any gouging, the blade is held right and you are 
cutting correctly. If, on the other hand, when cutting away from you, 
your blade digs and gouges into the paper, it is held wrong, and is 
sloped toward you instead of being kept at right angles to the print. 
If, however, your blade refuses to cut and merely polishes the paper, 
you may be sure that your blade is sloped away from you. 

You will undoubtedly have to put in many hours of practice be¬ 
fore you really get the knack and “feel” of the blade and come to 
realize the importance of having the correct cutting angle. Needless 
to say, until you begin to understand the blade, you should limit your 
practice to old and discarded prints. Don’t be discouraged if you 


42 


Figure 27 

The blade should cut in a series of short 
parallel strokes. 



have to hack and gouge a good many of these before you get your 
blade to cutting smoothly and delicately. The hang of the thing will 
come to you suddenly, and you will say: “Why, of course. How 
perfectly simple.” 

The next step is learning how to cover a passage. Obviously, if 
you continue cutting at one spot you will presently cut too deep. So, 
while cutting, learn to move the blade in and out by slightly contract¬ 
ing or extending the fingers. This results in a series of little strokes 
parallel to each other (see Figure 27). In this manner, the tone over 
the entire small area is equally reduced. 

You will probably find it more natural at first to cut away from 
you. With increasing proficiency in the use of the blade, you will 
learn to cut toward you also, and to cut in both directions at once. 
You will occasionally find it useful, in covering large passages of 
tone, to lengthen the cutting stroke up to one-half or three-quarters 
of an inch. But, for most purposes, it is best to use the short, well- 
controlled stroke that I have suggested above. 

The plane of the blade must always be kept at right angles to the 
surface of the print. And, for nearly all purposes, the rear corner of 
the blade should be lifted till the edge of the blade slopes at an angle 
of fifteen degrees. A smaller angle may cause the blade to get out of 


43 




Figure 28. Clean up spots and skin abra¬ 
sions by use of blade. 


Figure 29. Lighten and modify nose 
shadow. 


control and scrape out a large area at once, while a larger angle may 
cause the hlade to gouge. 

In one special case, however, it is permissible to increase the angle 
of the edge somewhat. This is in dealing with small black spots—the 
result of pinholes in the negative emulsion. To remove such a spot, 
increase the angle of the edge of the hlade to twenty or twenty-five 
degrees, and then cut both ways with a delicate trembling action of 
the hand. 

When removing or modifying a line or lightening a shadow pas¬ 
sage, always let the strokes of the hlade follow the general direction 
of the line or passage. Never work across a line. 

The action of the hlade will scrape off tiny crumbs of emulsion 
from the surface of the paper. Never clear away these crumbs by 
brushing the print with your fingers. Bloiv them off instead. Brush¬ 
ing with your fingers is liable to smudge the tone that you have 
already applied. Remember to touch the surface of the print as 
little as possible. If your hands are apt to perspire, it is best, when 
using the blade or spotting brush, to protect the print from damage 


44 





Figure 30. Remove wrinkles in neck and 
soften seam on dress. 


Figure 31. Lighten the ivhites of the eyes. 
Be careful to retain modelling and grada¬ 
tion of the eyeball. 


by resting your hand on a blotter or a piece of paper. 

Application of Blade 

Let us now observe how we use the blade to deal with the concrete 
portrait problem we have undertaken (Figure 8). 

First, clean up the skin abrasions near the corner of the mouth 
(Figure 28). Then reduce the shadows in the lower lip and nose 
(Figure 29). The nose shadow should be almost completely removed. 
Also slightly modify the shadow on the side of the nose so as to make 
the nose look straighter. 

Take out the wrinkles on the side of the neck, and break up the 
insistent line of the seam fold on the shoulder (Figure 30). 

Lighten the whites of the eyes (Figure 31). Don’t whiten them 
clear to the corners, however. Keep the natural gradation in the 
eyeball. A frequent abuse of the blade is to completely clean up the 
whites of the eyes so that they look like white glass marbles. Also 
intensify a single highlight in each eye. In putting in these high- 


45 



lights, it is permissible to gouge slightly with the blade, so that you 
can get clear down to the white paper. Also reduce somewhat any 
excessively dense shadows within the orbits. 

Remove the awkward corner of the right eyebrow. Remove the 
small scar and other abrasions on forehead. Clean out slight high¬ 
lights on each cheek hone and somewhat reduce the shadows under 
the eyes. 

In general, in working up a print with the blade, remember to 
work on the print as a whole. Do not fix up a small area completely 
before you go on to the next. This will give you very uneven results 
and a tight and smug-looking print. 

The Blade: Summary 

This completes the use of the blade, which is the third stage in 
the Abrasion-Tone Process. Let us now briefly summarize the most 
frequent applications of the blade to a portrait problem: 

1. Taking out confused or extraneous strands of hair. 

2. Cleaning up the whites of the eyes. (But, in doing so, 
be sure to retain the gradation and modeling of the 
eyeball.) 

3. Whitening the teeth. (Again guard against overuse of 
the blade. Teeth that are too much whitened look as 
though they were made of china.) 

4. Lighten shadow passages that are too dark or opaque. 

5. Making slight structural alterations: for example, lift¬ 
ing the lips or reducing the jaw line. 

6. Intensifying highlights. 

7. Placing the “bead” in the eyes by gouging. 

8. Removing skin abrasions, freckles, etc. 

9. Breaking up overlapping lines of texture (when Tex¬ 
ture Matrix is used).* 

10. Removing pinhole spots. 

11. Modifying or removing wrinkles in forehead or neck. 

12. Modifying or removing objectionable or over-insistent 
folds or creases in drapery. 

*See Appendix. 


46 



Chapter Five 

Use of the Spotting Brush 


We now come to the fourth stage of the process. This involves 
the use of the Chinese ink and the spotting brush. 

Preparation of Ink 

The Chinese ink is prepared for use by grinding the stick against 
a small stone slab or against the thumbnail of the left hand. The ink 
is then picked up and applied by the moistened sable brush. 

Those of a sanitary turn of mind may prefer to use a little pot of 
water to wet their brushes, but personally I prefer and advocate the 
more natural and convenient source of moisture—the saliva. Aside 
from its convenience, it has the further advantage that the small 
amount of albuminous matter in the saliva serves as a binding agent, 
as glue or egg is used in the tempera medium. There is no possibility 
of toxic action from the ink. Chinese ink consists simply of charcoal 
derived from the hulls of the black walnut. 

General Procedure 

Let me outline the general procedure followed in spotting a 
print. 

First, load your brush with all the moisture it will carry. Then 
thoroughly impregnate the brush with ink from the slab or your 
thumbnail—whichever means you prefer for grinding your ink. 
When taking up the ink, twirl the brush so as to shape it to as small 
a point as possible. 

In spotting a print, work always from the darkest to the lightest 
areas. So look first for dust spots and hair lines in the darkest parts 
of the picture. Also take care of any small “traps” in these areas. 
Cover the whole print in this manner, working only in the blacks and 
darkest tones. 

When you have finished with these extreme darks, the moisture 


47 


in your brush will have become somewhat depleted. Now, at this 
point, don’t go back and load up with more ink. Instead, just carry 
the brush to your mouth and replenish the moisture. In this manner, 
you will somewhat dilute the ink remaining in your brush so that 
you can go on to the next lighter series of tones. Spot now, all over 
the print, all the dark gray tones. When these areas are spotted, once 
more replenish the moisture in your brush and go on to the next 
lighter series of tones. So, by successive dilutions of the ink in your 
brush, go on to progressively lighter tones, finishing with the very 
palest half-tones. When this method is followed, a single inking of 
the brush should suffice to spot an entire eleven-by-fourteen print. 

When you are taking care of a small dust spot, he sure that your 
brush is shaped to a sharp point, and place your dot of ink with a 
single deft motion precisely in the middle of the spot. If you try to 
paint your ink on instead of placing it, you will probably put a dark 
rim around the spot, leaving the spot itself looking whiter than ever. 

Even with the best of intentions, it will occasionally happen that 
you will spot too black. When this happens, there are two ways of 
dealing with it. If you catch it in time, you may blot it with your 
finger. For this purpose hit the wet spot a sharp rap with your finger 
tip. This will lighten the tone by blotting or slightly spreading the 
ink. It is essential that you definitely hit the paper: never merely 
press or smear the spot with your finger. 

However, if the ink has already partly dried before you notice 
that it is too black, different measures are called for. Under no 
circumstances, when this happens, try to remedy matters by going 
over the spot with a wet brush: this will result in smearing the 
powder-tone, and will make a mess of your print quite impossible 
to salvage. So, if the ink has dried too black in a few spots, let them 
go until the final clean-up stage. At this time the excessive blackness 
may be reduced by careful use of the razor blade. 

Remember also that the spotting ink, in common with tempera 
and water color, dries somewhat lighter in tone than it looks when 
wet. So, when spotting, make your tone just a shade darker than 
the area that you want to match. 


48 



Figure 32. With spotting brush, fill in traps Figure 33. Final clean-up is made with 
in hair, remove multiple highlights in eye, blade, 
eradicate dust spots. Work from darker to 
lighter areas. 


Application of Spotting Brush 

Let us now see how we use the spotting brush in connection with 
the present portrait problem (Figure 8). 

First, take care of the darkest areas. Fill in the smaller “traps” 
in the hair (Figure 32). Also fill in the corners where the hair 
recedes too conspicuously at the temples. Repair the eyebrows where 
the blade has removed the corner, rebuilding it in a more symmetrical 
arch. Darken the shadow of the lid on the cornea of the eye. Spot 
out the extraneous highlights in the eyes, leaving only the ones that 
have been intensified by the blade. 

Moving now into the lighter areas, spot out the dust spots and 
scratches in the face. Finally take care of any white spots in the 
background or any other extremely light part of the picture. 

The Spotting Brush: Summary 

This completes the use of ink and the spotting brush, which 
constitutes the fourth stage of the Abrasion-Tone Process. Let us 


49 


briefly summarize the usual and probable applications of the brush 
to a portrait: 

1. Spotting pinholes. 

2. Darkening the corneas of the eyes under the lids. 

3. Correcting multiple highlights in the eyes. 

4. Darkening accents in the hair. 

5. Filling in small traps in hair or drapery, gaps in the 
eyebrows, gaps in the eyelashes. 

6. Joining up rims of eye-glasses. 

7. Sharpening of cheeks and recovering of contours. 

8. Repairing small welts or gouges. 

Pencil and Spotting Brush: A Comparison 

Pencil and brush are used for a similar purpose: the local dark¬ 
ening of tone. It will help to better understand the application of the 
two if we briefly compare their uses. 

1. The Carbon Pencil is best on large passages, filling in 
large traps, or darkening the general tone over an area. 

2. Gradation is more readily secured in a penciled area; 
gradation is difficult to secure with a brush. 

3. The brush works best in small restricted areas where 
precision is required. The pencil is not suitable for 
spotting small pinholes. 

4. The brush is best where dense blacks are required. 

5. The pencil and brush may be effectively combined, the 
pencil supplying the general dark tone and the brush 
furnishing the accent blacks within this area. 

The Final Clean-up 

The final stage of the Abrasion-Tone Process consists of a general 
checking over and clean-up with the blade (Figure 33). Look the 
print over carefully, and remove any pinhole spots that you may have 
missed. 

Preservation of Prints 

A print which has been subjected to Abrasion-Tone has, of course, 
a more delicate surface than a straight print. Nevertheless, when 
completed, it should be able to stand a reasonable amount of handling 


50 


without damage. If the completed print smudges with ordinary treat¬ 
ment, the process has not been properly carried out. When the 
Powder-Tone is used with economy and is impregnated into the 
surface of the paper according to instructions, a hand brushed lightly 
over the print should show no trace of powder. The Carbon-Tone, 
likewise, should be so rubbed in with pumice that it does not smear 
at a touch. 

A more resistant surface may be secured on Abrasion-Tone prints 
by spraying them with “Fixatif” solution (used for fixing charcoal 
drawings). I do not particularly recommend this procedure, how¬ 
ever, since the Fixatif must be applied with great skill and care and 
any slip-up results in a spotted and irretrievably spoiled print. 

Of course, any print that you especially value should be properly 
preserved under glass, where it is safe from damage through careless 
handling. 

Spotting the Glossy Print 

The earlier procedures of Abrasion-Tone—the powder tone, the 
carbon tone, the blade—should not be attempted with glossy papers. 
They cannot be satisfactorily applied to such surfaces. Nor are they 
generally compatible with the direct dealing that is implied in a 
glossy print. 

However, the procedure of spotting can and should be used with 
glossy papers. Dust spots and unduly insistent white areas will re¬ 
quire such treatment. The general working method of proceeding 
from the darker to the lighter areas in the picture is, of course, 
observed with glossy papers just as with matt papers. 

Glossy surfaces do not always accept the spotting ink as readily 
as do matt surfaces. A certain amount of patience and persuasion 
may be required. If the surface persists in spurning the ink, rub the 
area with a moistened finger tip. This procedure reduces the gloss 
slightly and permits the surface to accept the ink. 

A glossy print should not be ferrotyped until after spotting. By 
the operation of ferrotyping, the ink is impregnated within the sur¬ 
face and may not be detected, even upon close inspection. 


51 


Chapter Six 


Limitations on Use of Abrasion-Tone 


The preceding chapters have given you all the mechanical basis 
for using Abrasion-Tone in a portrait job. We will shortly consider 
some applications of the process to some other pictorial problems. 

But, before we go on with the more advanced phases of the 
process, let me remind you again of the intent of the process and of 
its limitations. Correct use of the process will enable you to do things 
that are impossible by any other photographic means, and failure to 
respect its limitations will surely land you in trouble. 

Purposes of the Process 

Let us, then, review the basic purposes of the Abrasion-Tone 
process. The process seeks, fundamentally, to do three things: 

1. To obtain pure white in the extreme highlights of the 
print (and nowhere else). This is something practically 
impossible to obtain by purely photographic methods. 

2. To secure an additional range of half-tones in the light- 
area. This enables you to give increased pictorial value 
to that part of the picture which is of most interest 
psychologically. You look first, and with most pleasure, 
at the lighter areas of the picture; hence there should 
be the fullest possible rendering of half-tones within 
these areas. 


52 


3. To eliminate or modify undesirable pictorial elements. 
The process makes possible certain eliminations that 
cannot be accomplished by any other method. 

Elimination and Modification by Abrasion-Tone 

In the course of preceding chapters I have indicated, in connec¬ 
tion with a specific portrait problem, some typical eliminations and 
modifications. Let us summarize these, particularly as they apply 
to portraiture: 

Flaws that may be eliminated by Abrasion-Tone: 

1. Freckles and skin abrasions. 

2. Stray hairs. (This is a fault impossible to correct by 
ordinary retouching methods.) 

3. Extra highlights in the eyes, the result of a multiple 
light source. 

4. Crows-feet and other faint lines on face. 

5. Small spots, caused by pinholes in the negative or flaws 
in the emulsion of the printing paper. 

6. Marks resulting from scratches in the negative. 

7. Overlapping lines of texture. (When a texture screen 
is used.) 

Pictorial modifications possible by use of Abrasion-Tone: 

1. Lightening of shadows. 

2. Intensification of highlights. 

3. Improving of gradation in light-area. 

4. Darkening of orbits of eyes. 

5. Darkening of ears. 

6. Darkening or lightening of lips. 

7. Lightening of eyeballs. 

8. Narrowing the width of nose. 

11. Reduction of too light elements in dress or background. 

9. Softening of wrinkles and facial depressions. 

10. Filling in of “traps.” 

Limitations of Process 

We have just outlined the probable applications of Abrasion-Tone 
to portraiture. The process, however, has very definite limitations. 


53 


There are certain things that you should not try to do with the 
process. If you try them, you will get into trouble. And when you 
do—don’t blame the process. 

Here are some of the things that you should never try to 
accomplish by the use of Abrasion-Tone: 

1. Never try to eliminate large areas of gray or black. 

2. Don’t change structure of lips or otherwise alter basic 
structure of image. 

3. Don’t alter angle of eyebrows or eyes. 

4. Don’t use the Powder Tone as a local coloring agent. 

5. Don’t sharpen the contour or edges of the image all the 
way around. 

6. Don’t try to use the process to correct major errors in 
posing the model. 

7. Don’t try to use the process to correct technical errors 
in making the print. 

8. Don’t carry the process too far. If you keep on fussing 
and refining, you will refine all spontaniety, humanity, 
and photographic quality out of your picture. 

Knowing When to Stop 

This last point warrants further emphasis. In order to get the 
best results from Abrasion-Tone, you must know when to stop. Those 
who are just beginning to get the hang of the various procedures in 
the process are very apt to let their enthusiasm carry them on beyond 
the moment when the picture is properly finished. 

Figure 34 is an example of what happens when you let your 
enthusiasm run away with you and neglect to stop when you are 
already finished. Compare this with Figure 8 (the original state of 
the picture) and with Figure 9 (in which the process is sensibly 
handled). 

Note what has been done in Figure 34. The hair, instead of being 
slightly refined in its contours, is converted into the semblance of a 
wig. The emphasis on the “widow’s peak” gives the face a very 
improbable heartshaped contour. The eyes have been deprived of 
their upper lids and have no more reality than the eyes of a waxen 


54 



image. The mouth is pure paint, with no flesh and hlood beneath it. 
There is no remaining suggestion of skin texture: the face has been 
worked over so much that it has taken on a sheen like that of porce¬ 
lain. All hint of accident or spontaniety has been laboriously removed 
from the contour, so that it is rigid, tight and smug. 

Even though the craftsmanship may be so good that no sign of it 
appears on the surface of the print, the utterly improbable slickness 
of Figure 34 makes it obvious to any beholder that the print has been 
“doped up.” This, in its way, is just as bad use of Abrasion-Tone as 
that which betrays itself by clumsy hacking and smearing of the 
print. Neither by skill run wild nor by the lack of it should the use 
of the process make itself known. Remember it is a photograph that 
you are working on; and, after you are through with it, it should 
appear, in all details, still a photograph. 


55 


Chapter Seven 


Other Applications of Abrasion-Tone 


In the preceding chapters I have stressed the application of Abra¬ 
sion-Tone to portrait problems. In my own case, I have used it prin¬ 
cipally in such work. Furthermore, I have found that a portrait with 
a “Basic Light”* is the best subject on which to practice and learn 
the process. The strict limitations of such a subject compel careful 
workmanship and tend to restrain reckless experimentation. 

In Landscape 

However, the Abrasion-Tone Process is very applicable to land¬ 
scape problems. Mood and Light are the primary issues in effective 
landscape, and these are things that the process is well adapted to 
working with. Landscape also permits of more thorough-going 
structural revisions than are feasible in portraiture. 

Figure 35 is the picture that we have chosen to demonstrate the 
use of Abrasion-Tone on landscape material. Here we have interest¬ 
ing and amusing subject matter, but it is not, as it stands, an effective 
or arresting picture. 

Let us note some of the flaws that keep Figure 35 from attaining 
its full effectiveness. In the first place, owing to the extremely dull 

!!: See Pictorial Lighting, Chapter Four. 


56 


light at the time of shooting, there is a tendency to flatness. For this 
reason, there is no commandingly placed contrast of light and dark. 
There are numerous scattered and meaningless dark blobs of mud or 
stone in the stream. These draw the eye hither and thither, and 
prevent it from appreciating the pleasant swing and rhythm of the 
water. There are also many distracting spots of white speckled 
through the foliage and water. Finally, there is no concentration of 
dark elements where we want them, i.e., near the dominant whites 
in the group of ducks. 

In applying Abrasion-Tone to this print we follow the same gen¬ 
eral order in the various procedures that I have described in detail 
in the preceding chapters. Let me summarize these briefly: 

1. Apply powder tone. 

2. Clean out light areas with eraser. 

3. Blend for gradation with pumice and cotton. 

4. Apply BB pencil to areas to be darkened. 

5. Clean out with eraser. 

6. Blend pencil tone with pumice and cotton. 

7. With blade reduce dark areas and sharpen highlight 
accents. 

8. Spot with ink and brush, from darker to lighter areas. 

In accordance with this plan, the powder-tone is first applied over 
the entire surface of the print. After rubbing down and evening up, 
the tone is cleaned out of the dominating white areas—the ducks and 
their reflection in the water. Since the areas involved are relatively 
small, the pencil eraser is here employed in preference to the 
kneaded eraser. By means of pumice, the tone is blended and addi¬ 
tional half-tones are secured in the ducks’ plumage. Because there 
are no larger areas that require darkening, the BB pencil is not used 
on this print. The next procedure, therefore, is the application of 
the blade. By this means, the various superfluous dark blobs are 
removed from the stream, additional brilliance is given to the high¬ 
lights on the ducks and their reflection, and a few crisp accents are 
placed in the water. 

The final operation consists of spotting. With brush and ink all 


57 



Figure 35. “Conference.” Original print. Note flatness, extraneous detail, and scattered 
blacks and whites. 


58 






**Conference ” 


William Mortensen 


Figure 36. “ConferenceMade effective by use of Abrasion-Tone. 


59 



needless white patches in stream and foliage are reduced in bright¬ 
ness until they no longer draw the eye. Literal leaf forms are allowed 
to appear in only two restricted areas. These supply enough sugges¬ 
tion of detail to carry out the impression of foliage and furnish the 
picture with two subsidiary white elements—the principal white 
element being, of course, the group of ducks. Finally, a few small, 
pungent, strongly contrasted accents of black are placed near the 
dominating white area. These black accents occur in the eyes and 
on the legs of the birds. 

The finished print, Conference, is seen in Figure 36. There can 
be no question but what it is much more effective pictorially than its 
original state, Figure 35. Note now how definitely the little drama of 
the ducks dominates the picture. Notice also how the removal of 
the dark irrelevant blobs in in the water permits you to appreciate 
the movement and pattern of the stream. 

These improvements are accomplished without any alteration of 
basic structure or any loss of photographic quality. On the contrary, 
the strictly photographic quality is enhanced in the completed print. 
Incidentally, none of these improvements could possibly be realized 
by ordinary retouching methods. 

Sunbreak (Figure 37) also shows the use of Abrasion-Tone in 
connection with a landscape subject. The original print contained 
all the essential structure of clouds and mountain-top but had very 
little dramatic quality. There was no bright spot on the mountain, 
nor any burst of light in the clouds. 

The procedure, briefly outlined, was as follows: The usual all- 
over treatment with the Powder-Tone was applied and subsequently 
erased from the central portion of the picture. With the BB carbon 
pencil, the cloud above the sunbreak was darkened considerably. 
The carbon tone was spread and blended with pumice. Next, the 
pencil eraser was brought into use, intensifying the central area, 
edging some of the clouds and putting in the diagonal streak of light. 
The bright spot on the summit was added with razor blade by clearing 
out the area between the trees. The blade was also used to put the 
final accent of brightness in the cloud. 


60 


‘Sun Break ’ 


Figure 37 


William Mortensen 


A Pictorial Set-Up in an Outdoor Setting 

We turn now to another sort of problem—the posed pictorial 
group in an outdoor setting. This type of picture usually provides 
ample scope for the use of Abrasion-Tone. 

The picture In Spain was posed on a rocky cliff overlooking the 
Pacific. The costumes of the models were assembled from numerous 
standard “costume elements.”* Considerable use of Abrasion-Tone 
was used in finishing the picture. 

Figure 38 shows the original condition of the print. It is obviously 
not satisfactory as a picture as it stands. There is a picture there, but 
it is vitiated by obtrusive incidentals and accidents of light and 
shadow. Note in particular that (owing to the extremely clear day 

*For the use of costume elements and other problems involved in posing this picture, see The Model. 





Figure 38 

“In Spain.” Original condition 
of print. Unsatisfactory as a 
picture, owing to overinsistent 
background, confused light 
areas and bad cast shadows. 


at the time of shooting) there is an almost complete absence of ^aerial 
perspective.” That is, there is equal depth of tone in shadows 
throughout the picture; the shadows in the background are just as 
dark as those in the foreground and principal image. Therefore, the 
cliff, instead of being a merely passive and subordinate back-drop 
for the drama of the principal figures, is practically as important, 
active, and near to the eye as the foreground. Note also the confused 
light areas, the bad cast shadows, and the absence of any separation 
of tone between the girl’s dress and the flesh of her throat. Notice 
further that there is no path on the cliff and that the sky is cloudless. 

Standard procedure was followed in working up this print. The 
powder-tone was applied as usual, and then cleaned out of the lighter 
passages. Then, with the BB carbon pencil, the light areas in the 


62 



“In Spain” William Mortensen 

Figure 39. “In Spain.” Print finished by Abrasion-Tone Process. 


63 






background were toned down. (This immediately pushes the back¬ 
ground further away and makes it less obtrusive.) The general 
masses of the clouds were blocked in. Additional tone was put on 
the flesh areas, and the white spots in the foreground were reduced 
in intensity. All this carbon tone was blended and gradated with 
pumice and cotton. 

With the pencil eraser, the light areas were worked into the clouds 
and highlights were cleaned out in the flesh areas. Then, with the 
eraser cut to a very sharp point, all the dark areas between the light 
spots in the background were carefully cleaned up. This was done 
to remove the pencil tone that had been smudged over them during 
the work with pumice and cotton. By this means the light areas were 
restored to their original tone. 

A large amount of abrasion with the blade was employed. With 
it were lightened all the extreme darks in the background. (Thus we 
lighten the darks and darken the lights in the background, bringing 
it all within a narrow range of tones, saving the extreme range of 
tones for the principal image.) The path was indicated on the cliff, 
and brilliant highlights were touched in along the upper edge of the 
clouds. Dark passages surrounding the two heads were reduced and 
the cast shadows on the girl’s neck and dress were made less harsh. 
The tone relationship of sash and dress were improved. The dense 
shadow on the man’s jaw was somewhat reduced and a catch-light was 
added. A hint of detail was introduced into the cloak. 

The improvement in the final print (Figure 39) is obvious. The 
background becomes, because of the increasing atmospheric depth, at 
once less aggressive and more pictorially interesting. The figures are 
now, as they should be, the commanding elements in the picture. 

A Pictorial Head With Added Background 

A favorite device of the great portrait painters was to supply their 
subjects with a background of conventionalized landscape. In pho¬ 
tography it is frequently advantageous to apply this device to the 
representation of a certain monumental type of pictorial head. The 
conventionalized background of landscape makes the subject exist 
in the world rather than in blank solitude, and avoids the inconveni- 


64 


Figure 40 

“Quattrocento .” Original straight print. 
Note absence of background, defects in 
make-up and limited tone range. 



ence and literal connotations of a real landscape background. 

Figure 40 shows the set-up and original condition of the picture. 
The pictorial elements are few and simple: a model, two pieces of 
black velvet, a bit of lace, a tasseled cord from a bathrobe, a scrap of 
crepe hair (to make the heard) and a white background. The 
“Plastic” type of lighting* causes the background to photograph as a 
medium gray and supplies the face with modeling that is firm and 
vigorous without being harsh. 

In addition to the absence of background, there are various faults 
here apparent that need correcting. The eyes are too much sub¬ 
merged in shadow. There are obvious defects in the beard—-particu¬ 
larly on the right side. The number of tones in the face is very 
restricted. There is no crisp contrast near the center of interest to 
attract the eye and give brilliance to the whole. 

With this print we follow the general order of Abrasion-Tone 
procedures that I have outlined above. In this case, however, the 

♦Pictorial Lighting, Chapter Six. 


65 





Figure 41. “QuattrocentoBackground of Figure 42. “QuattrocentoBackground re - 
fai/Zs and clouds roughed in with BB car - fined by use of pumice, eraser and blade, 
bon pencil. 


powder-tone is omitted, so we begin with the application of the BB 
pencil. 

The background is dealt with first. The general dark masses 
making up the sky and distant hills are roughed in broadly (Figure 
41). Don’t give any thought at this time to gradation or detail: 
simply put in the main masses of tone—the “abozzo,” in the jargon of 
the art schools. Choose the position and shape of the masses so as 
to give increased dominance to the head. Note in this case that the 
head is made the center of radiating cloud shapes. Don’t touch the 
face at this stage; leave it until the background is completed. 

Next, work over the background with cotton and pumice until a 
smooth tone is secured in the various areas. Then, with the kneaded 
eraser, clear out the lighter areas. Refine again with pumice to secure 
gradation. Emphasize a few spots with the pencil eraser. Finally, 
put in a few touches with the razor blade at points where tone is 
desired lighter than the original medium gray of the background. 
The appearance of the print at this stage is shown in Figure 42. Note 


66 




“Quattrocento” 


Figure 43. Finished print. 


William Mortensen 


67 



that, although the effect of the radiating masses in Figure 41 is 
retained, it is made less mathematical and obvious. 

You are now ready to deal with the face. In subsequent work on 
the print, protect the background as much as possible, as the pencil 
tone is rather delicate and smudges readily. 

Begin work on the face by laying a tone with the BB pencil over 
it all. Rub it smooth with pumice and cotton. Develop half-tones by 
cleaning out the light areas with kneaded eraser and pencil eraser 
and by blending and gradating with pumice. With the blade, the 
structure of the face is emphasized and a few character lines are 
suggested. The imperfections in the beard are repaired. The whites 
of the eyes are made more brilliant and crisp “catch lights” are 
added. Final highlight accents are placed on the lace of the collar, 
on the lips and on the edge of the hat. 

The finished print, Quattrocento, appears in Figure 43. 

Figure 55, Pistachio Girl , shows another type of added conven¬ 
tionalized background. This picture was originally shot against a 
plain white wall. 

Clouds by Abrasion-Tone 

In both landscape and pictorial subjects, clouds are apt to play a 
very important part. As we have just seen, they lend themselves 
readily to modification or elaboration by Abrasion-Tone. 

While no specialized knowledge of cloud anatomy or meteorology 
is required to construct an effective cloud background, a certain 
amount of careful observation is needed. Most people will discover, 
when they try to make a background, they really don’t know what a 
cloud looks like. So it is an excellent idea to spend several days in 
closely observing and memorizing typical cloud forms and shapes. 
Study them so carefully and intimately that when you close your eyes 
an hour, a day, or a week later, you can actually see them again, 
complete and fully formed. A few such detailed observations will 
supply you with a world of cloud material for pictorial purposes. 

Much more important than strict scientific accuracy in shaping 
the clouds is a sense of the pictorial fitness of things. Cloud back- 


68 


grounds must emphasize the essential form and emotional quality of 
the principal image. A subject of generous and swelling curves 
would naturally call for large clouds of the cumulus type. More 
delicate subject matter would demand soft and fleecy cloud shapes, 
while the tragic note would be emphasized by dark and lowering 
rain clouds. 

So, before you add any background, carefully analyze the conno¬ 
tations of your subject matter. What sort of an image do you have 
to deal with? Is it angular, rounded, linear—or what? Is it active 
or passive in its suggestion? Is it horizontal or vertical in its confor¬ 
mation? 

With these points in mind, you may plan your background of 
clouds to conform—both in physical shape and in emotional value. 
First, with the BB carbon pencil, lay in the general pattern of dark 
masses. Its tone should be as dark as you intend to have the darkest 
patches in your sky area. With the kneaded eraser, rough in the 
lighter areas. This gives you your “abozzo”—the rough plan of light 
and dark spots. Be sure that this pattern conforms to and enhances 
the impression of the principal image. When the “abozzo” is estab¬ 
lished to your satisfaction, then—-and not until then—you may pro¬ 
ceed with the refinement of your background, working the larger 
masses with the kneaded eraser, and blending and gradating the tones 
with cotton and pumice. Any effort to reverse this procedure—fuss¬ 
ing with detail at first and building up masses by accretion of detail 
—is certain to produce a wooden and uncomfortable result. 

Many useful suggestions concerning the use of clouds in connec¬ 
tion with pictorial material may be garnered by a study of the works 
of such painters as Kuyp, Jordaens and Constable. Among photog¬ 
raphers, Leonard Misonne is particularly skillful in his handling of 
cloud masses. His best cloud effects are mostly obtained by means 
of direct control on the print in the oil process which he employs so 
extensively. 

Rules for Added Backgrounds 

The adding of a background is a tricky matter at best. Good taste 
and good workmanship are absolute requirements. Good taste and 


69 


artistic perception are not to be gotten by mere instruction, of course; 
but the more obvious pitfalls may be avoided by observing a few 
rules. 

In the first place, in combining an added background with a prin¬ 
cipal image, remember always that, pictorially speaking, the back¬ 
ground is the secondary and subsidiary interest. The background is 
added simply to display the principal image more effectively. So 
anything that tends to make the background more interesting to the 
eye than the image must be avoided. 

From this general rule we may evolve several specific laws: 

1. Never put any detail in the background. For example, 
to have put a house on the hill in Figure 43, with a road 
leading up to it, would have provided too much interest 
aside from the principal image. 

2. Plan your background in terms of broad masses and 
gradations, not in terms of line and drawing. 

3. Never have anything in the background that is as dark 
as the darkest portion of the principal image. 

4. Never have anything in the background that is as light 
as the lightest portion of the image. 

5. In other words, the background should always have a 
lower range of contrast than the principal image. 

6. Keep your background in key with both the thought and 
the physical contour of the image. 


70 


Chapter Eight 


Last Words 


This is the Abrasion-Tone Process. Guided by skillful hands and 
good taste, it can accomplish things and secure print quality impos¬ 
sible with any retouching method or other photographic procedure. 
But, when ineptly handled, there is no more certain method for 
making bad prints worse. 

I have done the best I could to describe the process clearly: the 
rest is up to you. Before I leave Abrasion-Tone to your tender 
mercies, there are three points that I wish to emphasize. 

1. Remember that you are working on a photograph. In 
all alterations, modifications, and additions you must 
bear this in mind. Your final result must still be com¬ 
pletely photographic in appearance. At a foot’s dis¬ 
tance, the print should show no sign of work on its 
surface. 

2. Skill, good workmanship and cleanliness are essential 
to success with this process. So, withhold your verdict 
on the usefulness of these procedures until you have 
taken the proper time to acquire the skill to apply them. 

3. Be intelligent in your use of the process. Know why 
you are using it and how you are using it before you 
start to apply it to a particular problem. Don’t work at 
random, but know always where you are going before 
you start. 


71 


Part Three 


Presentation 


Chapter One 

A Note on Showmanship 


Your print is now completed. But it is not yet ready to meet the 
public. There are still many details of presentation that must he 
taken care of. Anything worth showing at all—whether you show it 
to your friends or send it to the London Salon—is worth showing to 
the best possible advantage. 

In the following chapter we will discuss the various phases 
involved in presenting a picture to the public. 

Good presentation is, in the broad sense of the word, nothing but 
good showmanship. For the sale of prints, or for their exhibition in 
salons, at least fifty per cent of one’s chances for success depend on 
matters relating to showmanship. No matter how good the print, its 
chances for success are cut in half if it is inadequately presented. 

There is nothing insincere or merely theatrical implied in the 
use of the word “showmanship” in this connection. Among good 
showmen of the theater there is a horror of blatantly noisy and 
aggressive presentation, unbalanced, tactless and tasteless—mere 


72 


empty ballyhoo. This is the kind of presentation that is appropriate 
for a fire sale, but for nothing of higher caliber. 

A part of good showmanship is a sense of the appropriate— 
presentation that fits the subject- matter. The presentation appropri¬ 
ate to a Whistler nocturne would hardly be fitting for a sideshow. 
Nor would JoJo the Dog-Faced Boy thrive on the same ballyhoo that 
does for Katherine Cornell. The good showman knows how to adapt 
his showmanship to the thing that he is showing. 

Good showmanship is the very essence of the successful manage¬ 
ment of a commercial studio. The greatest of care must be exerted 
to make all details of presentation effective and attractive. A typical 
trick of showmanship is the so-called “test print.” When the patron 
calls to get his proofs, he is shown a large print of himself from a 
carefully selected negative, beautifully finished, impressively 
mounted and framed, and reverently presented. “Just a test print,” 
he is told; but it is really a very neat bit of showmanship. The patron, 
if he is half-way human, is so smitten with his own pictorial possibili¬ 
ties that he puts in a substantial order before he recovers from the 
spell. 

A true flair for showmanship is a very frequent phase of the 
artistic temperament. Wagner and Whistler, to name two, were out¬ 
standing showmen as well as artists in their particular fields. Even 
those artists who are timid and retiring in their ordinary social con¬ 
tacts are apt to be excellent showmen when it comes to the presenta¬ 
tion of their own works of art; for they find in such presentation a 
compensatory opportunity for self-glorification. 

Those who lack the flair for showmanship must cultivate it, if 
they have any ambition to go places in portrait or pictorial photog¬ 
raphy. He whose interest does not go beyond the technical aspects 
of making the print will never make a picture. A picture that is not 
given the advantage of presentation is only half a picture. 

Showmanship at its best, of course, is an innate gift; hut those 
who feel themselves deficient in it may do much to cultivate it and 
to improve their feeling for presentation values. Here are a few 
suggestions: 


73 


1. Be sure you have a reasonably good print before you 
trouble about details of presentation. An inferior print 
well presented will catch the attention, no doubt; but 
the excellence of the presentation will soon emphasize 
the badness of the print, like a platinum setting for a 
chunk of glass. 

2. Never show, even to your best friend, a print which is 
not presented to the best of your ability. The good 
showman never submits his public to disillusioning 
glimpses behind the scenes. 

3. Check and eliminate those personal habits that are apt 
to interfere with effective presentation. The most com¬ 
mon faults of this sort are carelessness, slovenliness and 
impatience. Those who excel in the presentation of 
their prints have an almost military passion for order¬ 
liness and mopping up details. 

4. Learn to appreciate and savour the reaction of the pub¬ 
lic to your pictures. Only thus can you check up on the 
effectiveness of your presentation methods. This public 
reaction, favorable or unfavorable, is one of the major 
rewards of picture making. 

We will now proceed with making the print ready to meet the 
public. 


74 


Chapter Two 


Trimming and Cropping 


Any extended consideration of the art of cropping belongs prop¬ 
erly in a book of composition. Knowing what to crop and how deep 
to cut are very important phases of picture making. 

However, as trimming of the picture generally takes place at this 
particular point in the finishing procedure, it is necessary that we 
touch on it briefly. 

Nowadays the major part of “framing” and cutting a picture takes 
place during the process of projection.* Unless drastic changes in 
the picture scheme are carried out, most of the trimming that is done 
during the finishing of a print is merely for the sake of final adjust¬ 
ment and refinement. 

Choice of Trimmer 

There is no adequate substitute for a good trimmer. Attempts to 
use substitutes—such as scissors, or a ruler and a razor blade—bring 
forth nothing but loss of time, cut fingers, ruined dispositions, and 
very indifferent results. A trimmer needs to be of sturdy, heavy con¬ 
struction and of ample size (not smaller than fifteen inches square 
on the base). Cheap, lightweight trimmers may be able to handle 

*See Projection Control, Chapter Six, for data on “framing” during projection. 


75 



Figure 44 

The recommended type of trimmer: all- 
steel construction, fifteen inches square 
on the base. 

prints after a fashion, but a trimmer needs also to be able to cope 
with mountings and heavy chip-board. 

A trimmer of the sort shown in Figure 44 is the type recom¬ 
mended. This is of all-steel construction, fifteen inches square on 
the base. 

Some Suggestions 

As I have said, a knowledge of, or at least a feeling for, composi¬ 
tional values is the basis of good cropping. However, a few sugges¬ 
tions may help you avoid gross errors in cutting. 

Bear in mind, first of all, the obvious but neglected fact that it is 
always possible to trim off more, hut impossible to restore anything 
that you have recklessly shorn away. So go about your cropping 
slowly and carefully. Ease your way into the print by thin slivers of 
an eighth or a sixteenth of an inch. Check the effect after each cut. 

Generally cut the base of the picture first. Follow this with the 
left side, then the top , and finally the right side. 

A fairly safe rule-of-thumb to observe in cropping profile and 
three-quarter head angles is to preserve substantially more room in 
front of the face than behind it. Violations of this rule are fairly 



76 


Figure 45 

“Saskia.” Original condition of 
print. The bad spacing and 
meaningless expanse of dress de¬ 
mand that the print be cropped. 



frequent, but the rule is basically sound and should be followed 
unless there is a good reason for exception. 

Just how far to proceed, and just how deep to go with your crop¬ 
ping, is a delicate question of taste. There is a precise point at which 
a balance is reached. As you begin cropping, you will note that each 
slice that you remove by paring away inessentials, increase^ the sig¬ 
nificance of that which remains. As long as this holds true, you may 
continue with your cropping. But finally you will reach a point at 
which the remnant, instead of becoming increasingly significant, be¬ 
comes increasingly aggressive and melodramatic. You must learn to 
recognize when you reach this turning point. 

Note Figures 45, 46, and 47. Figure 45 is obviously in need of 
cropping, being badly spaced and cluttered with inessentials. Figure 
46 shows the improvement that may be effected by wise and re¬ 
strained cutting. But in Figure 47 the cropping process has been 


77 









Figure 47 

Aggressive melodrama caused by 
over-cropping. 


carried too far, and the picture lias become blatant and absurdly 
melodramatic. 

Before indulging in such “choke shots,” you should be very sure 
that your subject matter is important enough to deserve such a spot¬ 
light of concentrated attention. Contemporary photography is much 
inclined to over-use the choke shot. It is particularly out of place in 
photographs in which the emphasis is on literal rendering rather 
than on subject matter. This sort of treatment screams to the ob¬ 
server, “Look, look, look , LOOK!” To which the slightly ruffled 
observer replies, “Yes, I see the man has a fly on his chin. So what?” 

Such concentrated and meaningless emphasis on a merely tech¬ 
nical effect—no matter how perfect—suggests some such scene as 
this: Imagine a huge and magnificent opera house, filled with people 
to its topmost gallery. At the appointed moment, the houselights are 
lowered and a hush of anticipation spreads through the audience. 


78 






“Saskia ” William Mortensen 

Figure 46. “Saskia .” An appropriate cropping of Figure 45. 


79 



The world’s greatest soprano comes upon the stage. She stands in 
the center of the platform while a hundred spot lights are focused 
upon her. Then she sings a single note —a full, ringing, golden high 
C. She bows deeply to the applause, she walks off the stage, the 
curtain comes down, the lights are lowered and the audience goes 
home. 

What is wrong with the scene that I have just sketched? Would 
any audience, no matter how famous the artist or how perfect her 
high C, consider this an adequate performance? The answer is ob¬ 
vious. Yet this is exactly the sort of a performance that many excel¬ 
lent photographers are putting on these days—spectacular presenta¬ 
tion of trivialities. Choke shots and excessive cropping may startle 
the public for a moment, but they can’t fool them into permanently 
accepting this idiom. In the long run, there is no substitute for sound 
subject matter, soundly presented. 


80 


Chapter Three 


Mounting 


The most important single procedure in the presentation of a 
print is that of mounting. It appears remarkably simple—this act of 
pasting the print to a piece of cardboard. But if it is badly done, even 
the best of prints loses its effectiveness. Clever mounting, on the 
other hand, will much enhance the print, and will make the most of 
its good points. 

In the last analysis, of course, the mounting of a print is a matter 
of good taste and personal feeling. So my comments in this chapter 
are not to be regarded as any effort to set up any absolute, hard-and- 
fast standard of procedure. I will, rather, simply point out certain 
general, common-sense principles of proportion and tone relationship 
—and certain regrettably prevalent errors resulting from the failure 
to observe these principles. 

The Function of Mounting 

There are two general purposes involved in mounting a print. 
The first and obvious purpose is the utilitarian one of protecting the 
print and holding it flat. The second and more important one is that 
of isolating the print. By means of the mount the print is separated 
from the surrounding distractions and is permitted to exist in a space 
of its own. 

For carrying out the first purpose of mounting a print, one needs 
only a certain deftness of hand and an instinct for neatness. But the 


81 


fulfilling of the second purpose—that of isolation—is more difficult. 
It requires study, artistry, and a feeling for spacing and tone values. 

Methods of Mounting 

There are three types of mounting in common use: 

1. Dry mounting 

2. The sunken mount 

3. Surface mounting 

Dry mounting involves the use of a tissue impregnated with a 
shellac base adhesive. When pressed with a warm flat-iron (about 
175° F.), or placed in a special type of heated press, the adhesive 
softens, and the print adheres flat to the mount. 

In sunken mounting a specially made type of mount is used, in 
which the picture is framed within a “window” cut in the top part 
of the mount. This sort of mounting is favored by many commercial 
portraitists. 

Surface mounting is the simplest of the three. The picture is 
placed directly on the cardboard mount and adhesive is applied only 
along the top edge of the print. This is the type of mounting that I 
generally use and recommend for most purposes. 

Dry mounting is open to many practical objections. In the first 
place, it is an expensive method—if done right. Though many ama¬ 
teurs try to do dry mounting with a flat-iron, it is a very poor expedi¬ 
ent, and the results are usually bad, what with prints coming unstuck, 
showing the marks of the iron, etc. If you are determined to do dry 
mounting, do it right with a dry mounting press—which will cost you 
in the neighborhood of sixty dollars. When the procedure is done 
correctly, the print is permanently and indissolubly united with the 
mount. This means virtually that the print is lost when the mount is 
soiled or damaged. A further objection to dry mounting is that it is 
practically impossible to use it with a “step-off” type of mount. 
Finally, it should be noted that a dry mounting job will not keep flat 
permanently. Eventually—usually within a few weeks—the print 
develops welts and bubbles, owing to the unequal expansion and 
contraction of the mounting tissue and the backing. 


82 


The sunken type of mounting is tricky. Considerable manual 
skill is required to use it correctly. It is, however, a very effective 
and pleasing method for displaying a small bromoil. Like dry mount¬ 
ing, it does not adapt itself to the use of any sort of “step-off”—which 
is demanded by certain types of prints. 

These various difficulties are obviated in the surface method of 
mounting. No special type of mount, no tissues, no expensive appara¬ 
tus, are required. There is never any buckling or bulging. Step-off 
mounts may be used whenever desired. If the mount becomes dam¬ 
aged, the print may always be salvaged and placed on a fresh mount. 
It is true that, if left exposed, prints so mounted show a tendency to 
curl away from the mount; but any print worthy of mounting should 
also be worthy of being glassed or kept in a portfolio. 

Rubber cement is satisfactory as an adhesive for surface mount¬ 
ing. Personally, however, I prefer Higgins Vegetable Glue for this 
purpose. 

Size of Mount 

In all the comments that follow about the size of mounts, their 
spacing and proportion, I shall assume that you have to deal with a 
print not smaller than eight-by-ten. This is generally the very small¬ 
est size that is acceptable at salons: most of them, indeed, prefer that 
nothing be smaller than eleven-by-fourteen. Also, eight-by-ten is the 
smallest size of print to which it is feasible to apply the control 
methods that have been outlined in Part Two. 

What size of mount is preferable for an eleven-by-fourteen print 
—the standard salon size? Sixteen-by-twenty are the conventionally 
accepted dimensions. However, I regard this size as much too large. 
It is ungainly and awkwardly big, and it invariably gets dog-eared 
and bent in transportation or handling. And a still more serious 
fault—it is so big that it dwarfs and weakens many high-key eleven- 
by-fourteen prints that cannot stand so much surrounding area. 

Fourteen-by-eighteen is the best size to take as a standard for 
eleven-by-fourteen prints. For choke shots and low-key material 
which—as we shall see—demand more space around them, the size 


83 


T 


of the print should be slightly reduced. Never be tempted to the 
vulgar practice of making the head of a choke-sliot as large or larger 
than life. 

In order to avoid introducing too many complicating factors in 
this chapter, fourteen-by-eighteen is assumed as the standard and 
constant proportion of the mount for the (approximately) eleven-by- 
fourteen print.* Necessary adjustments in proportion are to be made 
by trimming the print and “framing” it during projection—not by 
changing the shape or size of the mount.** 

We may note in passing that fourteen-by-eighteen is a standard 
size for glass. A sixteen-by-twenty glass will cost you nearly fifty 
percent more. 

Some salons, however, insist on the sixteen-by-twenty standard. 
They remount all prints accepted by pasting them, mount and all, on 
their standard-sized mount. This procedure, however, does not 
wholly lose the effect of the smaller mount, and also gives you the 
advantage of additional backing for your print. 

There is a definite and important connection between the &ey*** 



*For the eight-by-ten print, the corresponding 
proportion of mount is eleven inches by four¬ 
teen. 

**The best method of checking your own 
prints and mounts for conformity to the pxo- 
portions indicated in the diagrams in this chap¬ 
ter is the old familiar art-school procedure of 
the extended diagonal. It is based on the prin¬ 
ciple that rectangles with parallel sides and a 
common diagonal are similiar—i.e., are identi¬ 
cally proportioned. The accompanying sketch 
shows how it is used. If' the diagonal of your 
print or mount coincides with the extended 
diagonal of a diagram, the proportions are 
identical. 

***For fuller explanation of the meaning of 
“key,” see Pictorial Lighting, Chapter Nine. 


84 







Figure 48. A high-key print requires a Figure 49. A low-key print requires a 
rather narrow mount. The correct propor- ivider mount, 
tion is here indicated. 




Figure 50. Note how high-key print is Figure 51. A low-key print is cramped and 
weakened by too wide a mount. crowded by a mount that is too narrow. 


85 










































































































































































Figure 52. “Figure Study .” Note width of mount on this low-key print. 


of the print and the relative size of the mount. A low-key print re¬ 
quires more surrounding area in the mount than does a high-key 
print. (See Figures 48 and 49, which indicate approximate propor¬ 
tions of the mount for high- and low-key subjects.) A high-key print is 
weakened and diluted if the surrounding area of mount is too large. A 
low-key print, on the other hand, is cramped and crowded by too nar¬ 
row an area of mount. (Note in Figures 50 and 51 the bad effects of 
failing to consider the relationship of key to mount area.) 

Like low-key prints, “choke shots” and large dominant heads 
require considerable area and isolation. (Note the mounting of Fig¬ 
ure 53.) On the other hand, a print which features small detail or 
texture requires much less area in the mount. (Note Figure 54.) 

Portraits of the classic type, or full length figures, in which the 


86 







Figure 53. “Pierre.” Large mount required by “choke shot.” 


87 









Figure 54 

“Low Tide” Texture detail re¬ 
quires narroiv mount. 


head occupies relatively small area in the picture space, require but 
little area in the mount. This is because isolation is already furnished 
by the background of the picture itself (see Figure 55). 

Color and Texture of Mounts 

Some photographers go in for cream, tan, gray or even more 
emphatically colored mounts. They also employ, on occasion, mounts 
that are variously textured, grained and pebbled. 

Now, many of these mounting materials may be very attractive— 
in themselves. But the business of a mount is not to be attractive: its 
business is to show off the print to the best possible advantage. And 
these conspicuously colored and textured mounts defeat their own 
purpose by calling attention to themselves. 

Therefore, avoid at all times any extremes at all of color or tex¬ 
ture. As far as black and white prints are concerned, it is best to stick 
to a plain white mount. However, a warm-toned or sulphide print 


88 






Figure 55. 


‘Pistachio Girl.” Full length figure with 
ground needs little area in 


large surrounding area of back- 
the mount. 


89 








Figure 56. Side space is essential to Figure 57. The ample side space here gives a 
“isolation.” Note, in this example, that proper impression of isolation, 
the eye slips too readily from edge of 
print to edge of mount. 


looks best on a faintly warm mount. The tone of the mount should 
not he noticeable, but just barely off white. 

Spacing of Print on Mount 

The most delicate problem involved in mounting a print is that 
of spacing —the exact place to put the print on the mount and the 
relationship of the areas at top, sides and bottom. Owing to the deli¬ 
cacy of the problem, personal taste and judgment must play an impor¬ 
tant part in spacing. There is no substitute for good taste in such 
matters, but a few general rules will help the beginner and the 
uncertain worker from falling into gross errors. 

In considering the matter of spacing, it is important that we bear 
in mind that function of the mount which we have called isolation. 
The mount, we have seen, gives the print a free space of its own 
which separates it from distractions and irrelevancies of its surround- 


90 














Figure 58. This is the best spacing of a Figure 59. Raising horizontal print to se- 
horizontal print on a vertical mount. cure equal spacing at top and sides gives 

excessive space at bottom. 


ings. The art of spacing consists in properly apportioning this space 
at top, sides and bottom of the print. 

In securing isolation for the print, the areas on the sides are much 
more important than those at top or bottom. This is because in look¬ 
ing at a print or a series of prints, the eye travels more in a horizontal 
direction than it does up and down. Compare Figures 56 and 57 for 
an illustration of this fact. The space at the top is the same in both 
cases. Notice how little sense of isolation there is in Figure 56: the 
eye slips too readily from the edge of the picture to the edge of the 
mount. 

On the basis of this fact, we make our first general rule for spac¬ 
ing: With normally shaped vertical prints , never have a wider space 
at the top of the picture than there is on the sides. Thus we retain 
isolating areas on the sides, where they are most needed. 


91 











Figure 60 

This is the proper spacing of a square 
print on a standard mount. 


This procedure must be modified when either a horizontal or a 
square print is placed on a vertical mount. The average photog¬ 
rapher, unless he specializes in landscapes, will produce a horizontal 
composition about once in ten pictures. In order to preserve a certain 
amount of uniformity in the presentation of prints, I generally favor 
placing the occasional horizontal pictures on vertical mounts, uni¬ 
form in size and shape to those used for the vertical prints. The most 
satisfactory spacing under these conditions is that shown in Figure 
58. Notice that the space (contrary to the rule) is here narrower on 
the sides than at the top. Raising the picture so as to secure equal 
spacing at top and sides (Figure 59) causes too much discrepancy 
between the top and bottom. 

A square print is possibly of even rarer occurrence than a hori¬ 
zontal one. It is mounted similarly to a horizontal print on a vertical 
mount (Figure 60), with somewhat wider space at the top than on 
the sides. 

The general rule holds, however, when a horizontal print is 


92 







Figure 61. 

A horizontal print on a 
horizontal mount requires 
this spacing, wider on the 
sides than on the top. 



placed on a horizontal mount (Figure 61). Notice that the space here 
is wider on the sides than on the top. 

The relationship of the spaces at top and bottom is the next prob¬ 
lem. Even the most untrained observer feels the need of more space 
on the bottom than on the top. Note Figure 62, in which the print is 
equally spaced at top and bottom. To the eye, the print seems to sag 
below the center and to be inadequately supported. Think of the 
print as having weight which must be buoyed up by ample space 
below it. 

Here, then, is the second rule for spacing: Have at least half 
again as much space at the bottom of the print as there is at the top 
(Figure 63). E.g., if there is a two-inch space above the print, the 
space below it must be three inches or more. 

Of course, the print must not be shoved too high on the mount. 
In Figure 64 there is an oppressive suggestion of “low ceiling,” and 
the print seems to be squeezed at the top. 

It is occasionally a useful trick of presentation to use an extra 
large mount for a hromoil or similar choice item. The increased 
isolation given by the larger surrounding area serves also to increase 


93 









Figure 62. Print equally spaced at top and Figure 63. Print requires at least fifty per 
bottom seems to sag below center. cent more space at bottom than at top. 


the impression of preciousness. It is tantamount to putting a rope 
around it with “Don’t Touch” signs. But this device should be used 
only with material that warrants such presentation. And it should 
not be done too frequently: the trick loses its effect by repetition. 
Warning should also be given not to make the mount too huge. Too 
vast a surrounding space dwarfs the print, so that it becomes 
insignificant instead of precious. 

Use of the 66 Step-0ff” 

So far we have been assuming that the print is mounted directly 
on the white mount. This is the proper procedure in all cases where 
the background of the print is in the medium range of half-tones 
(Figure 65). There are two cases, however, where a print should not 
be mounted directly on a white mount. 

One of these cases is when a print has a white (or nearly white) 


94 



















Figure 64. Print too high seems squeezed Figure 65. Print with medium gray back- 
at the top. ground should be placed directly on 

mount. 


background or a white garment coming clear to the edge on one or 
more sides. The effect of mounting such a print directly on the mount 
is obviously bad (see Figure 66). The white of the picture falls off 
right into the white of the mount, and there is no clear separation 
between the two. 

It is equally bad when a print with a black background or a very 
dark foreground coming clear to the edge is mounted directly on a 
white mount (see Figure 67). The fault here is that of excessive 
contrast. The direct collision of black and white detracts from the 
picture. 

Both these cases require a “step-off” mount. The “step-off” is a 
sheet of paper of medium gray tone, cut somewhat larger than the 
print, and mounted along with it on the white backing. The rim or 
border of tone serves, in the first case, to separate the whites (Figure 


95 















Figure 66. Print with very light back • Figure 67. Print with very dark back¬ 
ground lacks separation from mount. ground contrasts harshly with mount. 


68), and, in the second case, to mitigate the crass contrast by the use 
of an intermediate half-tone (Figure 69). 

Do not use a step-off unless the tone of the background requires 
it. When a step-off is used with a medium-toned background, the 
step-off merges with the background, and the proportion and place¬ 
ment of the print may be seriously upset. Bear in mind that, gener¬ 
ally, the step-off is functionally a part of the mount—not of the print 
—and the use of the step-off should in no way affect the placing or 
proportions of the print. 

In choosing a paper to use as a step-off, one should remember that 
the function of a step-off is primarily utilitarian and not decorative. 
Therefore, avoid anything that is “flossy” or obvious in color or tex¬ 
ture. (The fancy multiple step-offs that one sometimes sees are very 
handsome, and marvels of workmanship, hut they are always more 
effective than the pictures that they are used on.) However, a certain 
fragility in color and material is permissible with a step-off. 


96 







Figure 68. Medium gray step-off serves to Figure 69. Medium gray step-off moderates 
separate light background from mount. the harsh contrast of the dark background. 


For general purposes I prefer charcoal paper for step-offs. This 
is a machine laid paper, neutral but pleasing in texture, and with a 
delicate natural deckle along one edge. For an extremely delicate and 
high-keyed print, I have occasionally used Japanese rice paper. For 
most purposes, the step-off material should be a medium warm gray.* 

In certain special cases, it is advisable to use a black step-off. 
Massive architectural subjects frequently require it. So also does 
some poster-like material, with dominant blacks (Figure 70), or with 
repeated black motives (Figure 71). In these cases, the step-off is 
more than a mere mounting; it becomes an actual structural element 
in the picture, helping to hold the blacks together. Black paper may 
be used thus; hut a black border printed directly on the picture is 
better.** 

*The gray at the top and bottom of the cover to The Command to LOOK is the right tone for 
use in step-offs. 

**See Appendix. 


97 












Figure 70 

“The Succubus.” Showing use of 
black step-off. 


The proper width of the step-off is determined hy the subject 
matter. Delicate high-key material cannot stand a step-off wider than 
a quarter of an inch on the top and sides. (Beware, however, of a 
step-off that is excessively narrow, as it creates a starved and pinched 
impression.) Only heavy low-key material with dark background can 
take a step-off wider than three-eighths of an inch. These dimen¬ 
sions, it should be understood, are given in terms of an eleven-bv- 
fourteen print. 

The step-off should be about twice as wide on the bottom as it is 
on the sides. E.g., a quarter-inch step-off should be about half an 
inch wide at the bottom. The width at the top should never be less 
than that on the sides (Figure 72). 

In cutting the material for the step-off from the sheet of charcoal 
paper, you make your cut in such a way that the deckle edge is pre¬ 
served along the bottom of the step-off. The deckle should never 


98 








Figure 71. “The Gay 90’s.” Repeated black motives need black step-off. 


99 








Figure 72. Step-off should be about twice Figure 73. Ruled pencil lines may some- 
as wide on bottom as on sides. times take the place of a step-off. 


appear along the top or sides. If the natural deckle edge is lacking, 
or has already heen cut away, a fairly presentable deckle can be 
added. There are two methods for doing this. 

The first method consists merely of laying the paper so that it 
overhangs the edge of the table or workbench, holding it firm with 
the flat of one hand and tearing off the overhanging part with the 
other hand. Work carefully, tear only about an inch at a time; then 
move your hand up, take a fresh grip and tear off another inch. If 
you tear too much at a time, without shifting your grip, you will not 
produce an even deckle. 

The second method is rather more complicated and takes more 
time. With warm water and a camel’s-hair brush saturate the paper 
along the line on which it is to be torn. It will take five or six appli¬ 
cations over a period of half an hour to obtain the necessary complete 
saturation. Then lay a ruler along the saturated line, hold it down 


100 





















Figure 74. Don’t try to be “decorative” in Figure 75. A typical example of excessive 
use of ruled lines. enthusiasm. 

hard, and, with a firm, straight pull, separate the paper at the edge of 
the ruler. There should be no tearing action: the paper is simply 
pulled apart. This second method produces a very pleasant deckle, 
the nearest thing possible to the natural deckle of “laid” papers. 

There are also available specially constructed trimmers that will 
cut a deckle edge. Generally speaking, the most pleasant type of 
deckle is the natural, untorn type which occurs along the edge of a 
laid paper. 

Be careful lest you overdo the torn edge along the bottom of the 
step-off. The very shaggy edges that are sometimes seen are clumsy 
and affected, and are had distracting elements. 

The deckle edge is not appropriate to all types of subject matter. 
Generally speaking, it connotes mood and fragility , and is particu¬ 
larly suitable to high-key subject matter of an imaginative nature. 
It is not at all appropriate to the modern, the realistic, or to subject 
matter that emphasizes texture detail. 


101 


































Ill lieu of a paper step-off, lightly ruled or penciled lines are 
sometimes used. Since they take the place of the step-off and fulfill 
the same function, the lines should occupy about the same area that 
would be filled by the step-off. Don’t put the lines too close to the 
edge of the print, since they then become confused with the edge. 
Figure 73 shows an example of the correct use of ruled lines. Never 
try to become “decorative” in your use of ruled lines. The lines take 
the place of the step-off—nothing more. So avoid scrolls, swirls, and 
other fancy touches. Figures 74 and 75 show what not to do with 
lines. 

Mechanical Details 

Everyone who does a great deal of mounting will work out his 
own individual methods and time-saving tricks of procedure. But a 
few suggestions on the mechanics involved may prove helpful to the 
amateur, who generally finds himself a bit bewildered by the com¬ 
plexities that develop in this apparently simple problem of attaching 
three pieces of paper to one another. 

In the first place, before you start gluing things together, carefully 
check the mount, step-off and print by lay ing them over one another 
as you wish them to appear. Make sure that mount and step-off are 
of right size and properly proportioned to the print. Determine 
definitely just how far down from the top of the mount you wish the 
print to be placed. 

With this final check-up you are ready to bring on the glue. Place 
the mount in front of you, laying the print and step-off to one side. 
Have a clean cloth handy. Pick up the step-off and lay it upside 
down, with the top edge toward you. Dip your right forefinger in 
Higgin’s Vegetable Glue and draw a thin line of glue along this edge. 
Use as little glue as possible; avoid lumps and smears. Spread the 
glue only along one edge. Pick up the step-off and lay it in its proper 
position on the mount, remembering that the step-off needs to he 
placed a little higher than the print. Now press the glued edge into 
place with the thumb, wiping off any excess glue with the cloth. 
Proceed in the same manner with the print. 


102 


A good eye is necessary to place the print accurately in the center 
and precisely parallel to the sides. It is desirable that you learn as 
quickly as possible to depend upon your eye and not resort to clumsy 
and time-wasting proceedings with the yardstick. However, if your 
eye is very untrustworthy, you may for a while assist it with a few 
measurements. For centering the print, you will find it helpful to 
make yourself a ruler that reads both ways from the middle. 

As soon as the print is mounted, it should be placed in the press 
and kept under firm pressure for at least an hour. 

Mounting the Glossy Print 

In giving these details on mounting, we have assumed that the 
print was made on a matt surface, since it is this type of print which 
usually receives the fullest pictorial treatment. 

Somewhat different presentation is required for a glossy print. 
The whole implication of the glossy print—and its justification also 
—is its directness and forthrightness of statement. The use of glossy 
paper suggests that merely decorative values are not involved. Con¬ 
sequently, the degree of “isolation” furnished by the mount need not 
be large. The area of the mount surrounding a glossy print needs to 
be only about two-thirds of that required by a matt print of the same 
size and key. A glossy print looks badly out of place on an over-size 
mount. 

Also inappropriate to the glossy print are the use of such decora¬ 
tive and pictorial adjuncts as frame and glass. The refreshing and 
sparkling episodic quality of glossy prints is something that is best 
displayed within an album rather than on the wall. 

Mounting the Commercial Portrait 

Thus far we have considered the various details of mounting 
entirely from the viewpoint of the pictorialist. The mounting prob¬ 
lem of the commercial portraitist is somewhat different. Theoreti¬ 
cally, of course, the same considerations of good taste and of 
displaying the picture for the picture’s sake should guide the com¬ 
mercial man as well as the pictorialist. But there are certain prac¬ 
tical matters affecting the former which the pictorialist does not have 
to cope with. 


103 


The commercial man, of course, is not making pictures for his 
own amusement and gratification. He has to deal with the vanity and 
perverseness of his public. There is frequently a considerable 
amount of vanity and ostentation involved in the mere act of getting 
one’s picture taken. Such vanity and social competition is not gen¬ 
erally compatible with best pictorial presentation. Because Mrs. 
Jones has had her picture on a large pink mount, Mrs. Smith must 
have hers on a still larger and even pinker mount. 

There is, no doubt, a considerable group of people who are sus¬ 
ceptible to the blandishments and flattery of the ostentatious mount. 
If his trade lies among people of this sort, the photographer must of 
course cater to their tastes, exercising such gentle missionary influ¬ 
ence as he can in suggesting more conservative presentation. 

An occasional photographer, of very individualistic character, 
may he able to present his commercial portraits in the barest pictorial 
manner, simply pasting the prints to homemade mounts; but most 
of us find it necessary to make concessions to commercial methods 
and to use ready-made commercial mounts. 

Among the successful commercial studios that do business on a 
basis of sound presentation, we may note two general methods. 

The first method is that of the studio that caters exclusively to the 
expensive trade. The standard presentation of a studio of this sort 
consists of an 11 x 14 print on a 16 x 20 mount. The latter is usually 
of the sunken type, made of extremely costly and conservative ma¬ 
terials. Quiet good taste is manifested throughout, with a complete 
lack of excess decoration and fancy trimmings. The job looks, and is, 
expensive. The cost to the photographer for such mounts is not less 
than one dollar apiece. 

The second method is that of the photographers who cater to 
the best of the middle class trade. They feature, as a rule, a smaller 
size of print and mount. The mounts are simple and in good taste, 
sometimes embossed or bevelled. These mounts are comparatively 


104 


Figure 76 

Commercial mounts like this are an 
happy hangover from 1903. 



inexpensive, and cost the photographer in the neighborhood of ten 
or fifteen cents apiece.* 

The practice of the best studios is to use simple mounts with little 
or no decoration. But the dealers’ catalogues continue to offer as 
mounts some of the weirdest confections that ever assaulted the 
human eye, unhealthy looking brown things, tortured into strange 
shapes, curiously cut, bent and deckle-edged. They are made to 
imitate all sorts of irrelevant materials—leather, wood, canvas and 
birch hark. They are adorned with various scrolls, seals and insignia 
(Figure 76). 

Mounts of this sort were in favor in the early nineteen-hundreds. 
Nowadays there is no excuse for a photographer using such materials 
—unless he wishes to insult his patrons. 

*A typical mount of this class is the “Colony JM-1,” manufactured by Taprell-Loomis and Co. 


105 






















Chapter Four 


Signatures and Titles 


An exceedingly important detail in the presentation of a picture 
is the artist’s signature. Much is revealed of the quality of the artist 
and his attitude toward his work by his handling of this little detail. 
Badly handled, a signature will be a disturbing element and will 
betray the artist’s uncertain taste or juvenile ostentation. Well han¬ 
dled, a signature becomes an integral part of the scheme of presenta¬ 
tion and even of the composition of the picture itself. 

Two Types of Signature 

There are two general types of signature. They are very different 
in their effect and connotation and require quite different handling. 
These are the two types: 

1. The written signature. 

2. The formalized signature. 

The first is simply the straightforward signing of the name, as you 
would put your name to a check, letter, or any other document that 
you acknowledge. The general type is shown in Figure 77. Simplicity 
and sincerity should be the connotation of this form of signature. 
There should never he any suggestion that the signature has been 
laboriously concocted. Juvenile and plebian had taste are indicated 
by a flamboyant or showy signature (see Figure 78). 

A signature of the written type is intended for use only on the 


106 



Figure 77. Written signa- Figure 78. Shoivy signature connotes Figure 80. Forma- 

ture should be plain and juvenile egotism and plebian bad lized signature may 

straight-forward. taste. be used on print. 


mount or step-off. A written signature should never be placed on the 
picture itself. This usage is characteristic of old-fashioned and small¬ 
town portrait studios, and is weirdly out of place with any photograph 
of pictorial pretensions (see Figure 79). 

The second type, the formalized signature, is illustrated in Figure 
80. Here an effort is made to get away from the informal and casual 
effect of the written signature. The name is, instead, presented in a 
form compact and decorative. The last name is frequently used hv 
itself in this type of signature—“smith” instead of “John Smith.” 
Indeed, the name is occasionally cut down to a mere symbol—such 
as the butterfly sign of Whistler or the familiar monogram of Albrecht 
Diirer. (However, the use of such cryptic symbols is not advocated 
for those who have not attained to the secure artistic rating of the 
artists just mentioned. For the average pictorialist, the use of a 
monogram to sign photographs is a foolish affectation.) 

In distinction from the written signature, the formalized signature 
is intended for use directly on the print. It thus becomes an integral 
part of the composition of the picture itself. So the placing of the 
formalized signature is a matter of much importance. A study of the 
wood-engravings of Diirer will reveal the care with which this master 
dealt with this problem. Never is the monogram placed twice in the 
same spot, and it is always placed right. 


107 



Figure 79 

“Henry Botts, Esq ” Never place 
written signature on print. 



The tone relationship of the signature to the picture is also an 
important detail. Generally speaking, the signature should he on 
the light side of the medium tones. IS ever should it he as dark as the 
darkest part of the picture. On the other hand, the signature should 
not be so light in tone that it becomes difficult to read. 

For making a formalized signature it is best to use a carbon pencil, 
since it most closely matches the photographic half-tones of the print. 
For a written signature on the mount or step-off, however, an ordinary 
lead pencil is to be preferred. Never use any sort of color in signing 
a black and white print. 

Position of the Formalized Signature 

Any thorough consideration of this matter would lead us far afield 
into problems of composition; but the following suggestions on the 
placing of the formalized signature may prove helpful. 


108 



Figure 81 . “ConchitaShowing use of formalized title and signature. 


109 














1. While the signature must conform to the image and be 
definitely related to the image, it must, on the other 
hand, be readily separable from the image. There must 
be no confusion about which is image and which is 
signature. 

2. Therefore, the signature should never be placed on any 
structural part of the image. It should be placed only 
in a part of the picture that is completely free of any 
subject interest. It should he placed on the background 
only when the latter is severely and conventionally 
plain (see Figure 81). In a landscape, it should not be 
placed on the sky, even though the latter is free from 
cloud or other detail, because the sky is a structural 
part of the whole. 

3. Nor should the signature overlap any part of the image. 

4. It generally introduces confusion when the signature 
begins or ends right at the edge of the image. Instead, 
definitely separate the signature from the image. 

5. In the case of a portrait with profile or three-quarter 
angle, keep the signature always behind the face. 

6. Flamboyant aggressiveness in a signature is bad, of 
course. But shrinking modesty is equally annoying. So 
don't, in a spasm of self-effacement, flatten the signature 
against the bottom or let it be crowded to the edge of 
the picture. 

Placing of Signature and Title 

The standard position for a signature on the mount or step-off is 
immediately below the print, with the right hand end of the signature 
in line with the right edge of the print (see Figure 82). It is perhaps 
scarcely necessary to remark that there should be no signature written 
on the mount if there is already a formalized signature incorporated 
in the picture. 

The written signature usually remains in the position described 
above when a title is added. Sometimes the title is lined up with the 
left side of the print, but the commoner and better practice is to 


no 



Figure 82. This is the accepted way of Figure 83. A bad arrangement of title and 
placing title and signature on the mount. signature. 


center the title, placing it slightly lower than the signature (Figure 
82). Of the unfortunate results of badly combining signature and 
title, a typical example is shown in Figure 83. 

The Formal Title 

It is occasionally effective to incorporate the title into the print 
itself. This has been done in Figure 81. Prints that are titled in this 
manner should he rather formal in composition, and have a perfectly 
plain background. 

The combining of lettering with a picture is a very tricky matter, 
and, unless it can be correctly done, lettering is much better omitted. 
Such lettering must be executed with a nice sense of space values, it 
must be photographic in quality, and it must be properly subordi¬ 
nated to the central image. 

The general procedure is as follows: Lay in freehand guide-lines 
very lightly with a lead pencil. Then, in the same way, indicate the 
spacing of the letters and lightly sketch them in. Trace gently over 


ill 













these sketched outlines with the BB carbon pencil, improving and 
rectifying the letters as you go. Now trim your BB pencil to a sharp 
point. Hold it vertically, and bearing down heavily on it, go over the 
letters again to obtain a strong, clean-cut outline. Finally, with the 
kneaded eraser, go lightly over all the lettering. The eraser does 
three things: it removes the guide-lines; it lightens the letters to the 
desired tone; it slightly blurs their contours, giving them a photo¬ 
graphic quality. Continue work with the eraser until the letters are 
so lightened in tone that they seem to lie on a plane behind the head 
of the portrait. 

Unless you go about things correctly, you will find that your for¬ 
mal title draws the eye more strongly than the picture it is applied to. 
All possible means must he employed to keep the title properly 
subordinated. Two rules may be suggested for securing this necessary 
subordination of titles. 

1. Avoid ornate or elaborate design in the letters used, or 
any other flourishes that detract from the domination of 
the central image. 

2. Whenever possible, let the first or last letter of the title 
be partially obscured by the image. By this procedure 
the lettering is placed in another plane in the picture, 
and is indicated to be of lesser importance. (Note, in 
this regard, the placing of the title on Figure 81.) 


112 


Chapter Five 


Framing 


Any picture that you place any value on should he shown under 
glass. The glass protects it from dust and damage and greatly in¬ 
creases its brilliance. There is also a consideration of showmanship 
involved: the use of protecting glass increases the impression of value 
and thereby raises the picture in the esteem of the beholder. 

A frame is naturally demanded when glass is used, as a means of 
holding the glass in place. But it has an important pictorial function 
also. Along with the mount, it serves to help create the necessary 
“isolation” required for the full appreciation of a picture. Like the 
mount, it must be definitely subordinate to the picture. This require¬ 
ment means that, for a photograph, the frame must be quite narrow 
and inconspicuous. As a minor and delicate art, a photographic print 
cannot support a heavy and ostentatious frame which a major work 
of painting can carry off triumphantly. 

Therefore, avoid (for an 11 x 14 print) any frame that is much 
over a quarter of an inch wide. Steer clear of bright colors and of 
shiny silver and other metallic finishes. And avoid those gorgeous 
contraptions of red morocco and gilt, in the midst of which one 
occasionally sees a photograph, dejected and forlorn, like a dish-rag 
dropped in the middle of the hall at Versailles. 


113 


Wooden Frames 

There are only two forms of frame which are really feasible for 
use with photographs. One of these is the wooden frame—made of 
a narrow and simple moulding. For an 11 x 14 print the moulding 
should not be wider than a quarter of an inch. Use no colors that 
draw attention to the frame itself. For a warm print, a medium 
brown frame is the best. Choose a dark gray for the average black- 
and-white print. For a low-key print, a black frame is sometimes 
effective. 

From a pictorial point of view, the thickness of the frame is 
frequently an advantage, since it gives increased “isolation.” 

The wooden frame, however, is subject to certain objections. It is 
cumbersome and easily damaged. Wooden frames do not stack to 
advantage; so they do not very well serve the photographer who 
wishes to store a large number of framed prints. In the long run, 
the wooden frame is rather expensive, and, except at additional 
expense, can be had only in a few standard sizes. 

Framing in Passe-Partout 

Except for something fairly permanent, passe-partout is by far 
the best medium for framing photographic prints. For the average 
photographer, who is constantly framing, re-framing and unframing 
his pictures, it is certainly the logical method to use. It is inexpensive 
and very effective. In use, passe-partout is a very flexible material, 
being adaptable to prints of any size and capable of considerable 
variation in width. 

The gummed paper tape known as passe-partout comes in twelve- 
yard rolls in a standard width of seven-eighths of an inch. It is avail¬ 
able in a considerable variety of colors, but, for most photographic 
uses, three colors will suffice: pale ivory for delicate and high-key 
prints, neutral gray for average prints, and black for prints with a 
preponderance of dark tones. To these may be added, if you wish, 
dark brown for warm or sepia toned prints. 

For framing in passe-partout, three elements are necessary: 

1. The mounted print. 

2. Glass of correct size. 


114 


3. Cardboard backing. 

Fourteen-by-eighteen is a standard size for glass, and is the best 
size to use with an eleven-by-fourteen print. You will find it ad¬ 
vantageous, if you are using much glass, to buy it by the case instead 
of by the piece. The saving in cost is considerable. Do not let your¬ 
self be inveigled into buying “picture glass,” which is quite expensive 
and offers little advantage. Ask, instead, for Grade A single strength 
window glass. 

Before using, the glass must be thoroughly cleaned and well pol¬ 
ished. This is essential for good workmanship. Few things look more 
careless than a thumb print under the glass. For cleaning the glass 
use either soap and water or the special solvent known as “Windex.” 
In either case, polish well with a soft, lint-free cloth. 

For the backing in framing with passe-partout, use the #25 chip¬ 
board. This is a heavy, gray-brown cardboard. Nothing lighter in 
weight should be used. #25 is stiff and substantial, but not too heavy 
to be cut with a good trimmer. 

Application of Passe-Partout 

Trim your chip-board backing to exactly the same size as the 
glass and the mount of the print. The three elements must be precisely 
the same size. Any discrepancy leads to a sloppy looking result. 

When the three elements are ready, assemble them, glass upper¬ 
most, and lay them before you on the work-table (Figure 84). Get 
the edges into perfect alignment. Then pull the whole assembly for¬ 
ward until one side hangs over the edge of the table by about an inch. 
Place a good-sized weight on them—a large book or something of 
the sort will serve for this purpose. 

You are now ready to apply the passe-partout. This is a very 
tricky business, ruinous to temper and philosophic calmness. I 
describe it step by step. 

1. Unwind the end of your roll of passe-partout. Measure 
roughly and tear off a piece a couple of inches longer 
than the edge of the glass. 

2. Moisten the gummed side of the passe-partout thor¬ 
oughly with your tongue. Those squeamishly inclined 


115 



Figure 84. Glass, print, and chip-board Figure 85. When left end is attached, pull 
backing are assembled, glass uppermost. passe-partout taut and attach right end. 


may prefer to use a dampened sponge, but I advocate 
the more accessible and natural source of moisture. I 
have used it for twenty years, and have sustained no 
damage from the pounds of mucilage I have absorbed 
during that period. You must learn to recognize the right 
degree of wetness: if the passe-partout is too dry, it may 
adhere to the glass but not to the chip-board hacking. 
If it is made too moist, the adhesive loses its strength. 

3. Hold the passe-partout, with the wet side down, between 
the thumbs and forefingers of the two hands. 

4. Attach the left end of the passe-partout to the glass only. 
Since the tape is opaque, you cannot see how much it 
overlaps the edge of the glass. You must learn to feel, 
with the end of your thumb, the extent of the overlap. 
A quarter of an inch is about the right amount. 


116 







Figure 86. Thumbs are used to attach Figure 87. Projecting ends of passe-partout 
passe-partout to glass along whole length are torn off, even with glass, 
of side. 


5. When the left end is attached, pull the tape taut, and 
attach the right end in the same manner (Figure 85). 
Feel the width of the overlap with your right thumb and 
make sure that it matches the left end. In case of error, 
the right end of the tape may be quickly loosened and 
re-attached correctly. 

6. You now have both ends attached to the glass. Now 
bring your thumbs together in the middle and, pressing 
down on the tape, move them away from each other 
back to the corners (Figure 86). You thus attach the 
tape to the glass along the whole length. At the same 
time, turn down the projecting edge of the passe-partout 
with the forefingers. 

7. With the left thumb and forefinger, pinch the three 
elements together at about the middle of the projecting 
end. With the right forefinger, turn under the edge of 


117 



the tape and attach it to the cardboard backing all the 
way to the right corner. Then pinch with the right 
thumb and forefinger and finish attaching the other half 
of the tape with left hand. 

8. Tear off projecting ends of the passe-partout, even with 
the glass (Figure 87). 

9. You have now completed one side of your picture. Now 
turn the whole assembly clear around, so that the oppo¬ 
site side projects over the edge of the table. Proceed in 
the same manner with this side. 

10. When passe-partout is applied to opposite edges, pro¬ 
ceed with the remaining edges of the picture. 

Analyzed and described step-by-step, the procedure may sound 
alarmingly complicated, hut it is quite simple in practice. Experi¬ 
mentation is necessary, of course, to get the hang of it. It is a rapid 
process when you know how. A reasonably skilled worker should be 
able to complete the application of passe-partout to an 11 x 14 print 
in a couple of minutes. 


118 


Chapter Six 


Prints for Salons 


The secret ambition of most photographers and the grand finish 
of all print finishing is to have one’s picture put up on the wall and 
admired by gasping and incredulous multitudes. Hence, we have 
salons. So it seems logical to include in this book a few remarks on 
how to prepare pictures for salons and what to expect from those 
quaint creatures, the jurors. 

Sooner or later in every photographer’s experience there comes 
the day when he receives through the mail a handsomely printed 
announcement reading something as follows: 

THE FIFTH ANNUAL SALON OF THE PITTSVILLE 
CAMERA CLUB. ENTRANCE FEE ONE DOLLAR. 

With high hopes or cynical misgivings you bundle up several of 
your best prints, fill out the attached entrance blank, enclose a dollar 
bill as requested, and send them all off to Pittsville. In due time you 
either receive them back with perfunctory regrets and a word of 
thanks, or else you learn (to your astonished gratification) that they 
have been accepted. 

Beside yourself, about a thousand other photographers have 
hopefully sent along examples of their work. What has been going 
on in Pittsville meanwhile? What is the system used to sort through 


119 


this mass of pictures and determine which are worthy to adorn the 
wall of the Pittsville Salon? And who are the great minds that 
administer the system? 

********* 

For several days preceding the opening of the Salon, a small 
harassed group of people have been circulating about a room lined 
with prints, placing on each their badge of acceptance or token or 
disapproval. Finally they have discovered themselves involved in the 
usual emergency. They have accepted more prints than the galleries 
of the Salon can accommodate, and consequently are obliged to find 
reasons for throwing out a third of their selection. They are now 
engaged in a somewhat distracted huddle, for they must eliminate 
two hundred prints before dinner time. Let us examine these people 
who control the destinies of so many pictures. 

There is Miss Kite, who has been on the jury ever since there was 
a salon in Pittsville. She is an ex-school teacher who gives to the 
affairs of the Camera Club the same grim enthusiasm that she gives 
to the Girl Scouts of Pittsville. She thanks God and her ancestors that 
she is from Boston. At the latter city she acquired her art training. 
She no longer does water colors, hut is fond of taking her antiquated 
Kodak to the park and taking pictures of the swans. She is much 
disturbed by nudes, but a bit of sentiment or still-life is enthusias¬ 
tically clasped to her chaste bosom. 

Her best friend in the Camera Club is Mr. Blossom, another mem¬ 
ber of the jury. Mr. Blossom, a small gray gentleman, is very loqua¬ 
cious and regrettably given to gossip. He recklessly admits to a 
personal interest in the nude—provided, of course, that the model’s 
eyes are modestly downcast and her figure is discreetly mitigated by 
diffusion and crepe de chine. He shares Miss Kite’s enthusiasm for 
swans. 

The third member of the jury is Mr. Spraddle. He represents the 
Chamber of Commerce point of view. As the chief promoter of the 
Pittsville Salon he has dedicated himself to letting the world know 
that “We here in Pittsville appreciate the finer things.” Mr. Spraddle 
is red of face, hearty of manner, and prides himself upon being 


120 


“broad-minded.” To the disputes of the other members about such 
matters as Pure Photography and Processed Photography, he replies, 
“I don’t know anything about that, but I know what I like.” Among 
the things that he likes are dogs, children blowing bubbles, nudes (of 
the boudoir variety), and candid camera pictures. 

John Easton is the fourth member. He knows photography from 
alpha to gamma. To him the principal interest in photography lies 
in what goes on inside the camera and within the dark-room. The 
ideal end product of these photo-chemical processes he finds in a 
glossy print of wiry sharpness. Any evidence of control, any of the 
“controlled processes,” he regards with disdain, if not with loathing. 
(Few people know that he has a bromoil press at home gathering dust 
in the attic.) His most frequent comment is, “What a pity it wasn’t 
made on glossy paper.” Naturally, with his predilection for the 
purely laboratory side of photography, Mr. Easton is less concerned 
than the others with subject matter, but he is apt to express a prefer¬ 
ence for skyscrapers, steam shovels and arrangements of sugar cubes 
(provided they are presented in clean glossy prints). 

Morton Williamson is a representative of the “controlled” school 
of photography. He welcomes carbros, bromoils and gum prints. He 
dismisses Mr. Easton’s glossy prints with disdain (and a little envy of 
their technical competence). He distrusts violent modernity in pic¬ 
tures, and displays more than a little nostalgia for the ways of the 
old masters. In his choice of pictures, he shows a penchant for rather 
sensational subject matter, for scenes of carnage and torture, and 
for nudes. 

The last member of the jury is Mr. Verdigris. Mr. Verdigris is an 
artist that Mr. Spraddle has drafted in order to give an arty flavor 
to the Pittsville Salon. He participates very little in the deliberations 
of the jury, but mostly mopes in the corner, nursing a very foul pipe. 
When pressed for an opinion, he gives a snort which clearly says, 
“Pfui, photography!” and then rasps, “No composition!” To which 
Mr. Blossom protests, “No composition? Oh, come, come, Mr. Verdi¬ 
gris!” And Mr. Spraddle hastens to remark placatingly, “Well, of 
course I don’t understand such things, but it seems to me to be a nice 


121 


little picture.” Miss Kite says, “I agree with Mr. Verdigris. I remem¬ 
ber that in Boston they said that, in a pyramidal composition, the 
apex should always come above the center of the picture.” Mr. 
Easton says, “Anyway, there is a very poor rendering of the flesh 
textures. Now, with a little more metol in the developer—” And Mr. 
Williamson comments, “It would be a good picture if he would add 
this and eliminate that.” 

And so the jury muddles through to the Fifth Annual Salon of 
the Pittsville Camera Club. There is no gainsaying the sincerity and 
honesty of intent of Miss Kite and the Messrs. Blossom, Spraddle, 
Easton, Williamson and Verdegris; hut as a group they are completely 
lacking in any unity of purpose or any common basis of judgment. 
Williamson is the only one who knows much about processes, Easton 
is the only one with any scientific background, and Verdegris is the 
only one who brings up the matter of composition. Subject matter 
is the only possible meeting ground, and here each one is swayed by 
his own personal predilections. 

The situation here outlined is not exaggerated or concocted. I 
have, in my time, served on a large number of juries, and I have fre¬ 
quently seen just such people arrive at just such makeshift conclu¬ 
sions. It is fact that must be recognized—and accepted philosophi¬ 
cally: this is how juries are. They aren’t always up to their job, and 
they are almost always swamped with prints and vastly overworked. 
Strange people sometimes get onto juries—and they arrive at strange 
conclusions. But there seems to be little that can be done about it: no 
adequate substitute has been discovered for the overworked, much- 
maligned jury. So—if you are going into salons, you will have to 
learn to take juries as they are. 

Under these conditions, it is of course impossible to indicate any 
general rule for impressing juries. As to subject matter, each member 
has his own individual set of likes and dislikes: and he is bound to be 
swayed by them—whether he admits the fact or not. As to processes, 
each has his own pet method. 

But, out of my own jury experience, I am able to suggest a few 


small matters that invariably please a jury and unconsciously incline 
them to regard your picture more benevolently. They are obvious 
things, yet they are all too often disregarded. They are simple ges¬ 
tures that convey an impression of consideration for the comfort of 
the jury and at the same time suggest that your print is a choice item. 

1. Submit only spotless prints. No matter how good your 
print may be otherwise, carelessness in this matter 
weighs heavily against you. It suggests either technical 
incompetence, or else that you don’t consider this par¬ 
ticular salon worth troubling about. 

2. Let your mounting be clean and meticulous. I have seen 
dozens of prints submitted, mounted askew and with 
paste smeared over the mount. Such sloppiness is an 
affront to the jury. If a print comes back from one show 
with the mount soiled, he sure to remount it before you 
send it out again. 

3. Keep your titles and signatures legible. The jury hasn’t 
time to call in a handwriting expert or to figure out 
acrostics. 

4. Give your prints secure protection in shipping. A print 
which is carelessly wrapped for shipping suggests that 
the artist himself doesn’t set very high value on it. 

5. Don't send the maximum number allowed. Juries are 
always overworked and beset with the problem of deal¬ 
ing with too many prints for the available wall space. 
So they view with gratitude any effort to lessen their 
labors. To send the absolute maximum number allowed 
suggests a little too much pushful eagerness and gives 
the impression that you bundled up everything you had 
on hand instead of your carefully chosen best. 

These are the best ways to make friends with the jury and influ¬ 
ence them to your advantage. Now let me offer a few suggestions 
regarding your general attitude toward salons and their problems. 

In the first place, when you start out to crash the salons, begin 
at the top. Your prints, let us say, have been well spoken of by your 


123 


local camera club and you are desirous of branching out a bit. Don’t, 
at this point, send your prints away to some small-town exhibit. Go 
after the big shows instead—such as those in Pittsburgh, New York, 
London, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Your chances of 
getting in are admittedly slimmer, but it means something when you 
do. And there are enough big salons to keep you busy sending your 
prints about. 

Don’t, as a rule, make a print for the specific purpose of sending 
it to a salon. Such prints, concocted for a special purpose and a spe¬ 
cial public, seldom turn out very well. So, instead of making prints 
for salons, simply make prints and send the salons the best of what 
you have. 

Avoid any hint of the wholesale habit. Don’t flood the market 
with your prints. To broadcast twenty copies of the same print, as 
some of our exhibitors do, is bad publicity in the long run. Such 
practice intimates very strongly that you set a higher valuation on 
quantity than you do on quality. There is no special virtue in getting 
into a large number of salons; indeed, it suggests that your prowess 
is rather more athletic than pictorial. 

After you have exhibited a few times, you will undoubtedly 
receive communications from other workers who want to exchange 
prints with you. Be rather chary of being drawn into such deals. 
Don’t swap for the mere sake of swapping. Never indulge in an 
exchange unless you really want the print that is offered to you. 

The question of gifts and valuation of prints is another matter 
that you will have to deal with if you meet with any sort of success in 
exhibitions. Various galleries and collectors will ask you for copies 
of your prints. The question is—how much. The safe rule in such 
cases is this: never charge a “merely nominal” price. Either make a 
generous gesture with an outright gift, or else ask a good substantial 
fee. Never make the mistake of charging merely “for materials,” for 
that implies that your print has little value beyond that of the 
materials. 


124 


Appendix A 


Abrasion-Tone and the Texture Matrix 


About three years ago I released for general use my Texture 
Matrix, which I had been using in my own work for many years. 

At the time when I made this device public, I was not able to 
describe one important detail of its use. This detail involved the 
employment of Abrasion, concerning which I had then written noth¬ 
ing, and which, indeed, at that time, I did not intend to make public. 

My “Texture Matrix” is a hand-etched, non-meclianical screen. 
It consequently contains some irregularities, inevitable in a non¬ 
mechanical device, which must be corrected by use of Abrasion. 
These irregularities show themselves on the textured print in two 



Figure 88 

Overlapping lines in Texture 
Matrix. 


125 



forms: 

1. An occasional clumping together of the texture, due to 
overlapping lines. 

2. Occasional single lines of texture, which persist in areas 
that should be nearly white and quite free from texture. 

Both these irregularities are shown in Figure 88, a considerably 
enlarged section of a textured print. The clumped and overlapping 
lines of texture are readily obvious at several points. Note also the 
single hair-line of texture that crosses the white of the eye. 

These both are readily corrected by use of the razor blade. A few 
strokes clear out the clumped lines and take out the line across the 
eye (Figure 89). Be careful always to make your strokes in the same 
direction as the texture lines. 

All textured prints should be carefully checked through and 
cleared of all such minor irregularities. 

Fuller details concerning the use of the texture screen will he 
found in the appendix to Projection Control. 


126 




Appendix B 

Black Borders by Projection 


Instead of a black step-off, with a print featuring heavy dominant 
blacks, it is sometimes an interesting variation to use a photographi¬ 
cally printed black border. 

This is easily supplied during the projection of the print. The 
procedure is as follows: 

Project the print as usual. When the exposure is complete, cover 
the lens with your red-orange filter. Remove the negative from the 
carrier and open up the lens to the fullest extent. Now, with a 
rectangular piece of cardboard somewhat larger than your print, 
shield the entire surface of the print except for a narrow border along 
the top and right edge. Be sure to hold the card so that it is accurately 
parallel to the edges of the printing frame. Hold the card in position 
with one hand, and with the other remove the red-orange filter from 
the projector lens. Give ample exposure, so as to insure complete 
black. Replace the filter on the lens and adjust the card so that the 
exposed border is along the bottom and left edge of the print. Once 
more remove the filter and expose amply. This completes the border, 
and the print is now developed as usual. 

If you use a printing frame you will note a slight diffusion at the 
edge of the border. This effect is due to the thickness of the glass. 
This barely perceptible diffusion will he found to be more pictorially 
pleasing than the harsh, mechanically ruled border that appears 
when the cardboard is placed in direct contact with the printing 
paper. 


127 


% a illiam Mortensen offers a full curriculum of individual 
instruction in his distinctive technique which is of especial 
interest to advanced amateurs and professional photogra¬ 
phers. The many beginners who also study with him are spared 
bewilderment and loss of time by the simplified, logical methods and 
procedures of the Mortensen School. More than six hundred students 
in the past ten years have taken these courses, which cover all 
branches of Pictorial and Portrait Photography, with particular 
emphasis on the Miniature Negative. They include the special pro¬ 
cesses of Bromoil, Color and Paper Negative with advanced treatment 
of Character, Dramatic and Landscape Photography. 

The student receives his training through demonstration, super¬ 
vised practice, and criticism of assignments, covering all points in 
the System. 

A large gallery of salon prints, including the work of both Mr. 
Mortensen and many of his distinguished students, provides inspira¬ 
tion and opportunity for study. For further information, you are 
invited to call at the Studios, or to address— 

William Mortensen, Laguna Beach, California. 


H 3b 79 « 













































































































































































































































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